Discectomy of the temporomandibular joint: 3-year follow-up as a predictor of the 10-year outcome.
OBJECTIVE
The study goal was to evaluate whether the 3-year follow-up evaluation of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) discectomy in a consecutive series of patients with TMJ internal derangement was a reliable predictor for the 10-year outcome of the operation.


METHODS
Twenty-nine patients with TMJ internal derangement were treated with discectomies, 6 bilaterally and 23 unilaterally. The patients were followed up for 10 years.


RESULTS
The dropout rate was zero at the 3-year follow-up, and 5 patients (17.2%) had dropped out at the 10-year follow-up. There was a significant reduction in the median visual analog scale recordings, and all but 1 patient reported reduction in the pain score. Mandibular motion increased significantly after 3 years, and similar or improved recordings were made at the 10-year follow-up. All but 5 patients showed an increased motion at the 10-year follow-up compared with the preoperative motion. The only complication seen at the 10-year follow-up examination was a slight anesthesia of the auriculotemporal nerve in 1 patient. All types of additional therapy decreased significantly after the operations.


CONCLUSIONS
Discectomy of the TMJ may significantly reduce pain and improve function in patients with internal derangement on a long-term basis. The 3-year follow-up examination proved to be a reliable predictor of the 10-year results.
Bjørnland
Tore
T
Department of Oral Surgery and Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. bjornnlan@odont.uio.no
Larheim
Tore A
TA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004431:Ear, External / Q000294:innervation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D004204:Joint Dislocations / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000503:physiopathology; D008410:Masticatory Muscles / Q000503:physiopathology; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D008875:Middle Aged; D009068:Movement; D010147:Pain Measurement; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012678:Sensation Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D013016:Sound; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000294:innervation; D019224:Temporomandibular Joint Disc / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome