Chondrosarcomas are malignant tumours of cartilaginous origin. They range from a well-differentiated growth resembling a benign cartilage tumour to a high-grade malignancy with aggressive local behaviour and the potential to metastasize. Only 5% to 10% of chondrosarcomas are known to occur in the head and neck region. A case of chondrosarcoma of the anterior region of the mandible is presented, along with a review of the relevant literature.
Exfoliative cheilitis, one of a spectrum of diseases that affect the vermilion border of the lips, is uncommon and has no known cause. However, factors such as stress and some psychiatric conditions are associated with the onset of the disease. This condition is disabling because esthetics and normal functions such as eating, speaking and smiling are compromised. The lack of specific treatment makes exfoliative cheilitis a chronic disease that radically affects a person"s life. This report attempts to further investigate the clinical course of the disease and provides detailed illustrations of the cyclical nature of the disease.
Unintended intravascular injection from inferior alveolar nerve blocks can result in frustrating distant complications affecting such structures as the middle ear and eyes. Possible complications affecting the eyes include blurring of vision, diplopia, mydriasis, palpebral ptosis and amaurosis (temporary or permanent). In this article, we present a complication that has been reported only rarely. Two patients developed transient loss of power of accommodation of the eye resulting in blurred vision after routine inferior alveolar nerve blocks on the ipsilateral side. Clear vision returned within 10-15 minutes after completion of the blocks. The possible explanation for this phenomenon is accidental injection into the neurovascular bundle of local anesthetic agents, which were carried via the blood to the orbital region. This resulted in paralysis of a branch of cranial nerve III, the short ciliary nerves that innervate the ciliary muscle, which controls accommodation.
Multiple supernumerary teeth without any associated systemic conditions or syndromes are not common. The author reviewed most of the cases reported in the English-language literature from 1969 to the present. It was found that there was a predilection of non-syndrome multiple supernumerary teeth to occur in the mandible. When analyzed according to specific sites for both jaws, there was a predominance of the multiple supernumerary teeth to occur in the premolar area, followed by the molar and the anterior regions respectively. The mandibular premolar region had the highest frequency of occurrence for both jaws combined.