1987 Volume 33 Issue 11 Pages 2265-2270
Recently, there have been few patients with suppurative arthritis of the temporomandibular joint, following the improvement of in antibiotics therapy in recent years.
A case of acute suppurative arthritis of the temporomandibular joint in a 47 year-old man is presented. He first visited our hospital in February 1984 with the chief complaint of pain in the left mandible. Regarding his general status, he had anorexia, and a general feeling of dullness and locally he had rotation of occlusion, difficulty in opening his mouth, diffuse swelling of the mandibular joint and pain and tenderness.
We examined him by conventional radiographic computed tomography, Ga-cintigraphy, single contrast and double contrast arthrotomography, bacteriological tests and arthroscopy. We aspirated pus and concluded that the cause of his ailment was bacterial, and after antiinflammatory therapy, discharge of pus and irrigation the patient is progressing favorably.
After healing of the inflammation, clinical and radiographic observations indicated ankylosis of the temporomandibular joint. Therefore we performed an examination and arthroscopic surgery.
It is suggested that in this case, arthritis of the temporomandibular joint had an important secondary effect on the form and function of the temporomandibular joint after the respite of the inflammation.
