Abstract
PURPOSE: To survey temporomandibular joint (TMJ) surgeons to determine current practice trends and perceptions regarding the role of discectomy for the treatment of TMJ internal derangements. METHODS: An anonymous 5-part web-based survey was sent to TMJ surgeons. The survey was created and distributed, and the data were collected with the University of Michigan Qualtrics platform. Responses were compared based on operative volume, tendency to replace the disc, and likelihood of requiring temporomandibular joint replacement (TJR) after discectomy. Spearman correlations were used to test statistically significant differences. Domain-level analyses were also performed by summarizing items into 3 domain scores. Analyses were performed in SAS V9.4 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). RESULTS: Fifty-nine surgeons (33.9%) completed the survey. Discectomy was not considered to be a useful procedure by 85% of respondents, and 74% would not consider discectomy as a first surgical option. Most would consider discectomy (64%) before alloplastic total joint replacement. Discectomy was preferred over discopexy for the management of anterior disc displacement with reduction by high volume surgeons (89%), but most (72%) did not feel that discectomy was beneficial over arthroscopy in the treatment of anterior disc displacement without reduction and concomitant degenerative bony changes. In managing symptomatic disc perforation, 66% agreed that discectomy is the procedure of choice and 49% felt that interpositional tissue is indicated in most cases after discectomy. Respondents who reported fewer re-operations requiring alloplastic TJR after discectomy had, on average, more positive perceptions of discectomy on the benefits domain (P = .03), better than alternatives domain (P = .03), and fewer concerns on the perceived adverse effects domain (P = .03). CONCLUSIONS: TMJ surgeons do not employ TMJ discectomy in most cases of TMJ internal derangement. However, discectomy is considered useful in cases of disc perforation or for persistent symptomatic disc displacement without reduction, in an attempt to avoid alloplastic TJR. Common adverse effects included joint noises and osteoarthrosis, and the use of interpositional disc replacement tissue did not alter the incidence of adverse effects or complications reported.