title: Condylar Fracture in a Child with Entrapment of the Inferior Alveolar Nerve.
abstract: The aim of this article is to report the clinical case of a right subcondylar fracture in a 4-year-old boy. The displaced and medial angulated fragmented mandibular condyle in coexistence with an enlarged lateral pterygoid process was compressing the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) during its course in the area of the infratemporal fossa. This was expressed by exhibiting a rubbing behavior with resulting superficial ulceration at the right lower lip. Hypoesthesia of the lower lip may be a sign of the IAN entrapment after a subcondylar fracture in a child. In contrast to the adults where an open reduction is necessary to relieve the symptoms of hypoesthesia, in pediatric population, a conservative approach seems sufficient.
authors.affiliation: OMFS-IMPATH Research Group, Department Imaging and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Catholic University Leuven, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Morphology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Hasselt, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
authors.forename: Constantinus
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Politis
authors.affiliation: OMFS-IMPATH Research Group, Department Imaging and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Catholic University Leuven, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: OMFS-IMPATH Research Group, Department Imaging and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Catholic University Leuven, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jimoh
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Agbaje
authors.affiliation: Department of Morphology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Hasselt, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
authors.forename: Ivo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lambrichts
authors.affiliation: Division of Anatomy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piagkou
authors.affiliation: OMFS-IMPATH Research Group, Department Imaging and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Catholic University Leuven, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Reinhilde
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jacobs
keywords: children; condylar fracture; entrapment; inferior alveolar nerve; nerve damage