I had an arthrocentesis, the procedure you
are speaking of, about a year and a half
ago. Unfortunately it did not help with
my symptoms, but, it has been very
successful as a surgical procedure. I
ended up having a bilateral arthroplasty
with suturing of the discs.. I am
actually scheduled for an arthrocentesis
on both sides on tuesday to see if we can
clear the debris that has developed over
the past year.
In fact, this is one of the most
successful of all of the surgeries. Here
is a study on the long term results of the
surgery:
a comparison of discectomy and
arthroscopic lysis and lavage for the
treatment of chronic closed lock of the
temporomandibular joint: a randomized
outcome study.
holmlund ab, axelsson s, gynther gw.
Department of oral and maxillofacial
surgery, institution of odontology,
karolinska institutet/huddinge university
hospital, huddinge, sweden.
An
ders.Holmlund@ofa.Ki.Se
purpose: the study compared the efficacy
of discectomy or arthroscopic lysis and
lavage in patients with chronic closed
lock of the temporomandibular joint (tmj)
in a prospective, randomized clinical
trial. Patients and methods: twenty-two
patients with a clinical diagnosis of
chronic closed lock were prospectively
randomized to either discectomy or
arthroscopic lysis and lavage. The
individual outcome in each patient was
evaluated with a visual analog scale for
pain and a questionnaire concerning
mandibular functional impairment. The
clinical evaluation included measurement
of maximum interincisal opening and
protrusion, recording of clicking and
crepitation, and palpation for tenderness
of the tmj and jaw muscles. Recordings
were made before the operation (baseline)
and at the 1-year follow-up. Results:
twenty patients completed the study.
Discectomy and arthroscopic lysis and
lavage significantly reduced pain and
improved mandibular function. Discectomy
reduced pain somewhat more effectively
than arthroscopic lysis and lavage. The
clinical recordings at the 1-year
follow-up indicated similarly good
outcomes after both procedures.
Conclusion: both discectomy and
arthroscopic lysis and lavage are
effective surgical methods for treatment
of chronic closed lock of the tmj.
Considering that arthroscopic lysis and
lavage is a minimally invasive outpatient
procedure, it should be used as the first
choice in surgical treatment of this
condition.
link
to article
the procedure itself is not very painful
at all. It is usually done under iv
sedation (i would definitely pull for this
if they do not mention it!!!!!!!) and the
recovery is fairly short. I've heard of
some people up and running around the same
night, although that is not healthy. I
would recommend at least a couple days for
recovery. Ice and/or heat work well to
help the soreness and swelling. I am
sure your doc will be injecting some
steroids to help with this as well. I
hope this answers some of your questions.
Where do you live?
Hope this helps you! Private message me
if you would like to talk, or feel free to
ask any questions you might have here!
