Surgical management of temporomandibular joint ankylosis with mersilene mesh interpositional arthroplasty: A case series study

Ankylosis of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is one of the most prevalent TMJ disorders in patients who have experienced trauma. Due to the high risk of recurrence, gap arthroplasty without interpositional material has been gradually discontinued as a treatment for TMJ ankylosis. After arthroplasty surgery, various interposition materials have been used to prevent a recurrence. Reporting on the effectiveness of TMJ bony ankylosis treatment using Mersilene mesh interpositional arthroplasty is the purpose of this study. This was a retrospective study carried out on five patients of TMJ ankylosis. All patients were treated through a Mersilene mesh interpositional arthroplasty procedure from January 2016 to April 2022 in Dr. Soetomo General Hospital and Universitas Airlangga General Hospital and evaluated 3 months postoperatively for the functional stability of TMJ. The result is preoperative mouth opening ranged between 0.7 and 13 mm. The patients achieved the interincisal opening between 27 and 40 mm postoperatively and had no complications for 3 months. In conclusion, Mersilene mesh interpositional arthroplasty is a very effective surgical treatment for TMJ bony ankylosis to achieve maximum mouth opening and avoid recurrences. The prevention of ankylosis recurrence necessitates thorough rehabilitation.