Poster 48: Minimally Invasive Alternative for Treatment of Recurrent Temporomandibular Joint Dislocation

Abstract

Statement of the Problem: Acute temporomandibular joint dislocation is a common occurrence that is generally treated by conservative therapy, namely manual reduction. This treatment, followed by some form of temporary immobilization, most often prevents recurrence. In some cases, possibly due to predisposing factors such as joint laxity, this can become a chronic recurrent condition requiring multiple trips to a physician or emergency room for reduction. This recurrent temporomandibular joint dislocation (RTD) can significantly decrease the patient's quality of life and require some form of surgical intervention for correction. Historically the most common treatment of RTD involves alteration of the condylar path by either eminectomy or eminoplasty. Many variations of each have been described in the literature, each with satisfactory results, but also with the inherent morbidities associated with open arthroplasty. Other methods for the treatment of RTD that have been proposed including intracapsular injection of sclerosing agents, intracapsular injection of autologous blood, botulinum toxin type A injection into the lateral pterygoid muscle, myotomy of the lateral pterygoid muscle, and scarification of the temporalis tendon. The purpose of this study is to present a minimally invasive alternative treatment for RTD using operative arthroscopy.