Releasing severe adhesions around the eminence and the synovial portion of the TMJ: a clinical study of combined treatment using hydraulic lavage, arthroscopic surgery and rehabilitative therapy.

This paper evaluates the effects of treatment with a pumping technique and arthroscopic lysis and lavage, followed by rehabilitative training, on condylar head mobility of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). We studied 32 TMJs in 19 patients suffering from chronic closed lock with severe adhesion. The results were compared between cases with adhesions concentrated in two areas: mostly in the posterior and/or the anterior synovial portion of the upper TMJ compartment (11 joints) and mostly around the eminence (21 joints). The results showed a statistically significant improvement in condylar head movement for both groups between the initial and final stages of treatment. However, the results also suggested that patients with adhesion concentrated around the eminence are less likely to recover condylar head mobility to the same extent as those in the other group.

Worsening of pre-existing TMJ dysfunction following sagittal split osteotomy: a study of three cases.

When patients seeking treatment for malocclusion also suffer from temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, it is hard to predict the result of simultaneous treatment of both conditions, or to plan for its different goals, because of unpredictable changes in the relationship between the disk, the fossa and the condylar head. Prediction is harder in cases of presurgical TMJ hypomobility, especially those with adhesion in the upper TMJ compartment. Authors differ widely on the likely effect of orthognathic surgery on TMJ disorders. This paper reports three cases in which TMJ disorders worsened after treatment of malocclusion by sagittal split osteotomy. It examines how presurgical diagnosis of TMJ disorders could assist treatment planning in such cases. The results suggest that microbleeding in the upper TMJ compartment during orthognathic surgery, as well as long-term postoperative intermaxillary fixation, carries a risk of creating worse adhesion that adversely affects the outcome for patients. Therefore, preoperative diagnosis of disk position and pathological conditions in the upper TMJ compartment, as well as careful choice of method and term of postoperative fixation, are essential in planning the treatment of malocclusion with sagittal split osteotomy.