A new surgical approach to treatment of bilateral syngnathia in a patient with popliteal pterygium-syndrome

Abstract

This case describes the treatment of syngnathia with a popliteal-pterygium syndrome. Although short-term successful surgical treatment has been described in literature, long-term follow up is essential, as the mouth opening limitations can be repetitively reoccurring. This requires new, individual treatment strategies as demonstrated in this case. A young patient is shown, who is successfully undergoing an alloplastic temporomandibular joint replacement to improve mouth opening, increasing the posterior airway space and facilitating the food intake.

Keywords: Alloplastic replacement; Child; Popliteal-pterygium syndrome; Syngnathia; temporomandibular joint.