Management of temporomandibular joint reankylosis in syndromic patients corrected with joint prostheses: surgical and rehabilitation protocols

Temporomandibular joint ankylosis (TMJA) is a severe disorder described as an intracapsular union of the disc-condyle complex to the temporal articular surface with bony fusion. The management of this disability is challenging and rarely based on surgical and rehabilitation protocols. We describe the treatment in two young adults affected by Goldenhar syndrome and Pierre Robin sequence with reankylosis after previous surgical treatments. There are three main surgical procedures for the treatment of TMJA: gap arthroplasty, interpositional arthroplasty, and joint reconstruction. Various authors have described reankylosis as a frequent event after treatment. Treatment failure could be associated with surgical errors and/or inadequate intensive postoperative physiotherapy. Surgical treatment should be individually tailored and adequate postoperative physiotherapy protocol is mandatory for success.