Does arthroscopic lysis and lavage in subjects with Wilkes III internal derangement reduce pain?

The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of arthroscopic lysis and lavage on pain in patients with unilateral Wilkes stage III derangement of the temporomandibular joint. Authors retrospectively evaluated whether the arthroscopic lysis and lavage has an impact on pain decrease in patients with moderate osteoarthritis.

Patients with unilateral Wilkes III of temporomandibular joint were included in this study. All patients underwent arthroscopic lysis and lavage (ASC-L), assessed pain before and after the procedure (primary outcome variable), maximal interincisal opening (MIO) was recorded as secondary outcome variable. The patients also subjectively assessed whether they were satisfied with the outcome of the arthroscopy or whether their condition required further interventions. The disc position was evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 24 months after the arthroscopy and compared with the disc position on the MRI prior to the arthroscopy. The R Project for Statistical Computing 3.4.1 and the Gretl Pro programs were used for statistical analysis. In addition to the descriptive statistics methods, the Shapiro-Wilk normality test was used to verify data normality and the two sample t test used to test the hypotheses themselves.

The sample consisted of 62 patients who underwent arthroscopic lysis and lavage (ASC-L) in 2015 and 2016. It included 6 men and 56 women with an average age of 34.37. Pain and MIO were recorded during regular check-ups 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months. A therapeutic effect (MIO over 34 mm, VAS score 0-1) was recorded in 69% of cases 24 months after the ASC-L. Nonetheless, the work demonstrated the importance of subjective assessment, as 87% of patients perceived their condition as satisfactory after 24 months and not requiring further intervention, while 8 patients (13%) perceived it as unsatisfactory. Disc reposition 24 months following the ASC-L was recorded in only 44% of patients who assessed their condition as satisfactory. Patients with persistent disc dislocation 24 months after the arthroscopy were older, had a lower average maximal interincisal opening value before the ASC-L and a longer duration of mandibular movement restriction before the ASC-L (evaluated as a statistically significant difference).

In this study, the authors confirmed that ASC-L is an effective therapeutic method in patients with WIII, from both clinical and subjective perspectives. This work demonstrated that improvement in patients with Wilkes stage III is not related to disc reposition. Postoperative physiotherapy is an integral component of ASC-L and is reflected in the final results.