Surgical treatment of temporomandibular joint ankylosis

The patient must be made to understand that a normal joint cannot be constructed by any surgical procedure and his part in the rehabilitation programme must be specifically stressed and assurance must be obtained from him that he is willing to carry out instructions during the postoperative treatment. The surgeon must be self disciplined enough to demand the best of himself in any situation and never to be satisfied with less. The surgeon must be generally optimistic, but his knowledge of the local anatomy and the surgical pathology must constantly remind him of his limitations. He must know that we cannot construct a normal joint and we must not promise one.