Treatment of mandibular condyle impactation/dislocation into middle cranio fossa: a systematic review

Penetration of the mandibular condylar head into the middle cranial fossa is a rare event but can lead to serious complications, primarily due to the creation of a defect in the cranial base that poses a significant risk of hemorrhage from the middle meningeal artery. This systematic review aimed to identify the optimal treatment approach for mandibular condyle impaction or dislocation into the middle cranial fossa. We conducted a systematic review of the literature following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. A comprehensive search was performed across PubMed, Embase, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar for relevant articles published between 1960 and 2023. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. A total of 43 studies were included, encompassing 48 reported cases. The findings revealed a notable predominance of female patients and the following outcomes.