Temporomandibular Joint Arthrography: Analysis of Procedure-Related Discomfort in Abnormal Joints

Abstract

One hundred thirty temporomandibular joint (TMJ) responses (from 85 patients) to a questionnaire routinely distributed following two-compartment, thin-needle arthrography were analyzed with respect to the degree and duration of procedure-related discomfort. Eighty-seven percent of the respondents described the procedure as causing minimal to mild discomfort, lasting 24 hours or less in 55% of the cases. Needle placement into the joint was reported by 42% as being the most uncomfortable part of the procedure. The most frequently described sensation associated with this procedure was pressure within the joint, reported by 75% of the respondents. Ninety-five percent of the patients stated that they would undergo the procedure again, if necessary. The authors concluded that thin-needle, dual-compartment TMJ arthrography is a relatively nontraumatic procedure, only rarely associated with significant discomfort of more than 72 hours' duration.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kurt P. Schellhas

Kurt P. Schellhas, M.D.

Dr. Schellhas graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1975 and completed an internship in anatomic pathology in 1976. He studied diagnostic radiology at the University of Minnesota and Minneapolis Veterans Hospital from 1976 to 1979. He completed a fellowship in neuroradiology at the University of Minnesota Hospitals in 1979 and 1980. He was in private practice in northern California from 1981 to 1983 and has been in private practice in Minnesota since 1983.

He is now staff radiologist at Abbott-Northwestern Hospital, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and director of neuroimaging at the Center for Diagnostic Imaging, St. Louis Park. Minnesota. He is a member of the American Society of Head and Neck Radiology, American Society of Neuroradiology, American Association for Study of Headache, and American Society of Temporomandibular Joint Surgeons.

Clyde H. Wilkes

Clyde H. Wilkes, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Wilkes received his D.D.S. degree from Emory University in 1958, his M.S.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1969, his Ph.D. in physiology from the University of Minnesota School of Medicine in 1969, and his M.D. from the University of Minnesota, 1972.

He is a founding member and president of American Society of Temporomandibular Joint Surgeons. He is currently in private practice in Minneapolis and Duluth, Minnesota and is a staff member at Abbott-Northwestern Hospital and Methodist Hospital, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Miller-Dwan Hospital, Duluth, Minnesota.