Arthroscopy-Questions and Input Requested - TMJ Disorder -TemporoMandibular Joint Message Board

sparkadoodle · 12-03-2007, 10:29 AM

Hi all,

I have an anteriorly displaced disc without reduction, limited mouth opening (approx. 35 mm), and pain upon eating hard or chewy foods. I have been on splint therapy for a few months and have made very limited progress. (I think my mouth opening was approx. 30 mm upon initiation of treatment.)

My tmj dentist has recommended an arthroscopic consultation w/ an oral surgeon. Based on what I have read on this forum, I am very nervous about proceeding with surgery

, and have some questions which I hope some of you may be able to answer.

1. Are there others out there with similar situations who have proceeded with arthroscopy? What was the result?

2. Are there others out there with similar situations who have decided NOT to proceed with arthroscopy? What has been the result?

3. For those of you with limited mouth opening who have had surgery, how were you intubated??? My research seems to indicate that AWAKE fiberoptic-aided intubation is required. The procedure sounds awful--has anybody experienced this??? I can find no discussion of this on the forum.

4. From what I can tell, arthroscopy is done to remove possible adhesions and scarring. But it sounds as though the surgery does not address the disc displacement. If your body has not created a "pseudo-disc," doesn't that leave the joint "bone on bone," and what are the repercussions of that situation being left unresolved?

I would like to be as educated as possible before meeting with the surgeon, and would be grateful for any input anyone can provide. Thanks!

Braced Face · 12-04-2007, 05:21 AM

hi an good morning , i to had very little opening , about the same as yours , i was suppose to have the surgery but opted for splints an they have worked , it took about a year with them , an then the tmj ortho started cutting away at the splints an exposeing sets of molors , he placed braces with hooks for elastics to pull the molors togather so it would keep the jaw joint open , an i'm now finishing up with full mouth orthodontics an things are great hope this helps

sparkadoodle · 12-04-2007, 08:29 PM

Hi Braced,

I really appreciate your response. I was afraid nobody was going to respond.

Glad to hear you're doing so well. Do you know what kind of splints you had? How wide are you able to open now? I'm assuming your disc/discs are still displaced?

Thanks.