Non-shortening fracture of the mandibular head resulting in severe mouth opening disorder operated on via the retroauricular approach – a case report

This report describes a case of a non-shortening fracture of the mandibular head resulting in severe mouth opening disorder operated on via a retroauricular approach (RA). We published this report because there is a very limited number of English--language articles on the RA. The second reason that prompted us to publish this report was the uniqueness of the case, i.e., there was an almost complete limitation of mandibular abduction in the fracture which did not shorten the vertical dimension of the mandible branch. The case described by us is an example of the effective use of the RA for the open treatment of a fracture of the mandibular head. Papers on the RA, including this report, indicate the satisfactory results of this method – a strong alternative to pre- and transauricular approaches. A non-shortening fracture of the mandibular head in the form of a significant persistent limitation of mandibular abduction is atypical and may be treated as another indication for open treatment.