Surgical treatment of temporomandibular joint luxation

Eminectomy with or without diskectomy was performed in 19 patients with temporomandibular joint luxation. Three of them were long-standing luxations (duration between three months and one year). The remaining 16 patients had recurrent luxations. The follow-up period was three years. No complications such as infection or permanent palsy of the facial nerve occurred. However, transient palsy of the temporal branch of the facial nerve, which resolved within three months was seen in 4 patients (21%). After treatment two patients had recurrent luxations. In the remaining 17 patients, two developed painful clicking of one TMJ, requiring additional surgery (one patient had arthroscopic lysis and lavage and the other one diskectomy). If these two are also regarded as unsuccessful cases, the overall long-term success rate was 79%. A comparison of the subgroups who underwent eminectomy alone and eminectomy with diskectomy showed that all unsuccessful cases occurred in the former group.