Histopathology of the temporomandibular joint disc: Findings in 30 samples from joints with degenerative disease.

AIM: The aim of this study is to show the anatomical and histological features of the displaced temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disc in joints with degenerative disease. METHODS: This study was performed on a total of 30 TMJ discs extracted from 22 patients, who underwent surgical discectomy after failure of conservative non-surgical treatment regimens to control pain and/or limited range of motion. All joints had imaging signs of an anteriorized disc position and degenerative joint disease. Samples of the extracted discs were stored in formalin, cut into 3 micron-thick sections imbedded in paraffin and processed with hematoxylin-eosin. RESULT: All the samples present irreversible morphologic and histological alterations. The macroscopical evaluation showed that 14 discs were worn and fragmented in several parts, and one disc was perforated. Morphological alterations with deformation and degenerative signs were shown in all discs, which were all severely worn and compromised. Histologically, various alterations were found, such as pre-fibrous sclerosis with myxoid degeneration and collagen deposits (N = 25), an increase in fibro-hyaline and fibrous tissues, with loss of elasticity (N = 25), scattered calcifications (N = 15), and synovial inflammation with microvascular proliferation and increased cellularity, presence of lymphocytes, histiocytes and plasma cells (N = 18). After the intervention, all patients reported decreased pain levels and showed improved function at 6 months. CONCLUSION: These observations suggest that degenerative joint disease is accompanied by a anteriorized discs featuring abnormal macroscopical and histological changes. From a clinical viewpoint, this may suggest that, when treatment escalation leads to consider TMJ surgery, total discectomy is the most reasonable approach.

Temporomandibular Joint Arthrocentesis in Patients with Degenerative Joint Disease: A 10- to 22-year Follow-up.

AIMS: To report the effectiveness of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) arthrocentesis with viscosupplementation for degenerative joint disease (DJD) over a long-term (ie, 10-22 years) follow-up. METHODS: A total of 103 patients aged between 30 and 91 years (13 men and 90 women; mean age 63.7 years) who received a cycle of five arthrocentesis sessions with HA viscosupplementation to manage their symptoms related to TMJ DJD during the time period from 1998 to 2010 were recalled for clinical evaluation. After the treatment cycle, clinical outcomes were assessed based on the following parameters: maximum mouth opening (MO), pain with function (PF), pain at rest (PR), and self-reported chewing efficiency (CE). Data were collected at baseline (T0) and at successive follow-up assessments, after at least 3 months (T1) and 1 year (T2), as per previous publications. Patients who had received treatment at least 10 years prior were then recalled for this study (T3: 10 to 22 years follow-up). Analysis of variance for repeated measures was performed to assess changes over time. RESULTS: Significant improvement in all clinical parameters was achieved at T1 and was maintained for up to 10 years (T3), with P < .01 for each parameter. At T3, treatment effectiveness was perceived as excellent by 56% and as good by 26.5% of subjects, while 10.7% perceived a moderate improvement, and 6.8% referred a slight improvement or did not have any improvement. Only seven individuals required additional treatments after T2. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the symptomatic management of TMJ DJD achieved in the short or medium term with a cycle of arthrocentesis and viscosupplementation was effectively maintained in the long term.