Ricerc@Sapienza

Unilateral condylar hyperplasia (UCH) is a condyle disorder that arises due to osteoblastic hyperactivity, resulting in facial asymmetry, malocclusion and dysfunction. Authors, in this retrospective study, compared "gold standard" manual-segmentation with a "semi-manual one" using 2 kinds of open-source software (Horos and ITK-SNAP; Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory) to calculate volume of 80 UCH condyles (40 patients). Moreover, volumetric differences between affected condyle and unaffected 1, between males and females, ages, and classification type were also analyzed.

Background: Unilateral Condylar Hyperplasia (UCH) is a pathology characterized by an excessive growth of a mandibular condyle. Nitzan et al. create a classification system based on clinical criteria, dividing condylar hyperplasia into vertical, transverse and combined forms. The Authors present a retrospective study of 14 patients treated with proportional condylectomy, functional arthroplasty (Iannetti et Cascone 1989) and aligners technique.

Unilateral condylar hyperplasia (UCH) is characterized by excessive growth of one mandibular condyle compared with the contralateral condyle. Affected patients develop facial asymmetry, often accompanied by occlusal discrepancies and disorders of the TMJ. Although the eti- ology of UCH is still unknown, some authors have hypothesized endocrine disorders, metabolic hyperactivity, trauma, arthrosis, and genetic causes as possibilities

Condylar hyperplasia is a temporomandibular joint progressive disease characterized by an excessive growth of the mandibular condyle. Condylar overgrowth represents one of the most common causes of facial asymmetry in early adulthood. To date, there is not a clearly established origin of the disease: genetic, traumatic, infective, vascular, and functional factors are involved hypotheses. Clinically, condylar hyperplasia presentation is characterized by an asymmetry of the lower third of the face, deviation of the chin, inclination of the labial line and malocclusion.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether additive manufactory technology through the use of 3D mandible and skull cast models can provide additional support to the virtual surgical planning for patients affected by unilateral condylar hyperplasia (UCH). This study describes 2 patients affected by active UCH. Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans were converted in STL files and then sent to a 3D printer that provided 3D cast models of patient’s mandible and skull. Surgical planning was conducted performing linear measurement both on 3D virtual images and on 3D cast models.