Surgical treatment of recurrent dislocation of the temporomandibular joint by eminectomy: case report

Abstract

Dislocation of the temporo- mandibular joint (TMJ) occurs when the mandibular condyle is displaced anterior to the articular eminence on maximal mouth ope- ning and becomes locked in front of the eminence such that the patient cannot close the mouth again. In the most of the cases, the disloca- tion is an isolated episode, but in others there is a history of recur- rent dislocations. In order to treat these patients various methods, conservative and surgical, are des- cribed by the literature. There are two surgical approaches to treat chronic recurrent dislocation of the TMJ, one restricts the mouth opening and the other proposes free movements of the mandible. The aim of this work was to report a case, in which eminectomy (free movement of the mandible) was used to treat a recurrent disloca- tion of the TMJ. Key words: temporomandibular joint, temporomandibular joint/ surgery.