Tmj

[ruffus1]

What is the name of your state? Indiana Hello, I had surgery on my elbow and now have TMJ from being tubed during surgery. I have never had problems with my jaw in the past. I woke up with this problem in the recovery room. The surgeon was informed and stated its fine give it a few months to get better. My jaw continued to "pop" 3-4 times a week with out pain, but 3 week ago it popped and had severe pain, now I have ear pain jaw pain, eye pain, and bad headaches. I can't always open my mouth, it locks. I called my surgeon, he stated it couldn't be from the surgery, see an oral surgeon. I saw an oral surgeon who specializes in TMJ, he said it was from the surgery, he can treat it but it will never go away. To make matters worse, my insurance won't cover TMJ, so we have to pay for treatment out of our pockets, so far 1500.00. Do I have any legal recourse, or is this something I'll just have to live with for the rest of my life? Thank you for your time.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

What is the name of your state? Indiana Hello, I had surgery on my elbow and now have TMJ from being tubed during surgery. I have never had problems with my jaw in the past. I woke up with this problem in the recovery room. The surgeon was informed and stated its fine give it a few months to get better. My jaw continued to "pop" 3-4 times a week with out pain, but 3 week ago it popped and had severe pain, now I have ear pain jaw pain, eye pain, and bad headaches. I can't always open my mouth, it locks. I called my surgeon, he stated it couldn't be from the surgery, see an oral surgeon. I saw an oral surgeon who specializes in TMJ, he said it was from the surgery, he can treat it but it will never go away. To make matters worse, my insurance won't cover TMJ, so we have to pay for treatment out of our pockets, so far 1500.00. Do I have any legal recourse, or is this something I'll just have to live with for the rest of my life? Thank you for your time.

Have you seen an osteopath or chiropractor? I had a similar occurance, though not from surgery, learned to live with it for years, I had some sacral cranial manipulation following an accident and later treatment by a chiropractor who fixed the problem, you insurance might send you to a OD why don't you check?

 

[ecmst12]

I've had success with my (mild) TMJ issues both from my dentist making minute adjustments to my bite (by grinding down my teeth a tiny bit in a few places) and some from chiro manipulations also. I would get a second opinion from a chiropractor at least before going ahead with expensive surgery.

Legally though, not only would you need to be able to prove that the surgery/intubation caused the TMJ, but you'd also need to show that it was because the surgery or intubation was somehow done wrong (below the standard of care) and if it had been done correctly, you would not have had this outcome. If your TMJ was an unfortunate result (either a known risk or unforseeable event) of a correctly performed procedure, that is not malpractice....all surgical proceedures have risks.

 

[barry1817]

What is the name of your state? Indiana Hello, I had surgery on my elbow and now have TMJ from being tubed during surgery. I have never had problems with my jaw in the past. I woke up with this problem in the recovery room. The surgeon was informed and stated its fine give it a few months to get better. My jaw continued to "pop" 3-4 times a week with out pain, but 3 week ago it popped and had severe pain, now I have ear pain jaw pain, eye pain, and bad headaches. I can't always open my mouth, it locks. I called my surgeon, he stated it couldn't be from the surgery, see an oral surgeon. I saw an oral surgeon who specializes in TMJ, he said it was from the surgery, he can treat it but it will never go away. To make matters worse, my insurance won't cover TMJ, so we have to pay for treatment out of our pockets, so far 1500.00. Do I have any legal recourse, or is this something I'll just have to live with for the rest of my life? Thank you for your time.

I get flags up when a doctor says another doctor caused a problem, but may not be willing to stand behind what has been said. So what is it that the surgeon did that caused the problem? Again for malpractice you need below standard of care, and I would find it difficult to find that a successful intubation caused the problems. I may be wrong.

[email protected]

 

[rmet4nzkx]

I get flags up when a doctor says another doctor caused a problem, but may not be willing to stand behind what has been said. So what is it that the surgeon did that caused the problem? Again for malpractice you need below standard of care, and I would find it difficult to find that a successful intubation caused the problems. I may be wrong.

[email protected]

I had a friend who had TMJ on one side and was told that it could not be cured and would noly get worse with time, I knew that she she was on the phone almost constantly and even had an attachment to the handset to cradle the phone between her ear and shoulder, I told her to get a speaker phone and use it religiously. She did and was cured! This could have happened so many diferent ways just because it happened after surgery does not mean that intubation caused it, but if there was some inflamation or dislocation, those can be addressed .

 

[ellencee]

What is the name of your state? Indiana Hello, I had surgery on my elbow and now have TMJ from being tubed during surgery. I have never had problems with my jaw in the past. I woke up with this problem in the recovery room. The surgeon was informed and stated its fine give it a few months to get better. My jaw continued to "pop" 3-4 times a week with out pain, but 3 week ago it popped and had severe pain, now I have ear pain jaw pain, eye pain, and bad headaches. I can't always open my mouth, it locks. I called my surgeon, he stated it couldn't be from the surgery, see an oral surgeon. I saw an oral surgeon who specializes in TMJ, he said it was from the surgery, he can treat it but it will never go away. To make matters worse, my insurance won't cover TMJ, so we have to pay for treatment out of our pockets, so far 1500.00. Do I have any legal recourse, or is this something I'll just have to live with for the rest of my life? Thank you for your time.

The anesthesiologist explained the risks of intubation to you prior to surgery and you acknowledged understanding of the possible damage to your teeth and mouth. Your oral surgeon should write an appeal to your insurance company and ask that your treatment be paid as a traumatic injury vs. usual TMJ-associated diagnoses.
EC

 

[xylene]

Your oral surgeon should write an appeal to your insurance company and ask that your treatment be paid as a traumatic injury vs. usual TMJ-associated diagnoses.

That post right there is going to save the OP a lot of money.

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Little tid bit of TMJ fellow sufferer wisdom- #1 Never chew gum, ever again. #2 If it takes you more than 4 chews to macerate a mouthful of a food and swallow, (steak, gummi bears) then cut into very small pieces and take small bites, or avoid those foods completely.