Sixty-nine cases of meniscectomy of the temporomandibular joint have been presented, together with discussion of the clinical symptoms and findings, operative technique, and postoperative care.
Follow-up was from one to fourteen years after surgery.
Conservative management is the treatment of choice in meniscus injuries of the temporomandibular joint. Most patients will improve on such conservative therapy.
Should conservative therapy fail to relieve pain, limitation of motion, or recurrent locking of the temporomandibular joint, then surgical excision of the injured meniscus is indicated to produce a gratifying result.
If marked fraying of the mandibular condylar cartilage is also found, then condylectomy, together with meniscectomy, is indicated. Two cases of meniscectomy, ending in bony ankylosis and failure, required subsequent condylectomy. Five additional patients had condylectomy as well as meniscectomy primarily because of evidence of traumatic arthritis of the mandibular condyle.