Coronoidectomy with Piezosurgery: Indications and Technical Note

Abstract

The aim of the present article is to describe a surgical technique consisting of the execution of coronoidectomy with piezosurgery by intraoral approach. In this technical note, the authors describe the appropriate approach to the coronoid process, providing a step-by-step illustration of the intraoral procedure; moreover, the authors define the clinical scenarios in which coronoidectomy is indicated. Two cases are then presented to enrich the description. Surgical treatment with coronoidectomy might be indicated for functional or pathological conditions: coronoid hyperplasia, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) ankylosis, closed lock trismus, post-traumatic restriction of mouth opening, lockjaw, surgical access to expand the surgical field when the procedure has to reach the medial part of masticator space, tumors or pathological conditions of the coronoid process, e.g. osteochondroma, osteoma, fibrous dysplasia, pseudo-joint in Jacob’s disease or oral submucosal fibrosis. Coronoidectomy might also be performed for prophylactic reasons, as it happens in oral cancer treatment.