IATMJ Advances a Global Standard for Arthroscopic TMJ Surgery as Inaugural Course Concludes in Shanghai
Delivering on its mission to set international standards in TMJ care, the International Association of Temporomandibular Joint (IATMJ) brought its global network to the inaugural three-day course (11–13 September 2026) in Shanghai — co-organized with China’s leading stomatology institutions and led by Prof. Chi Yang — where lectures and hands-on manikin simulation training turned a technically demanding operation into a repeatable, teachable standard for surgeons nationwide.
Shanghai, China — 15 September 2026. Twenty surgeons from hospitals across China completed three days of intensive, hands-on training in arthroscopic temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disc repositioning and suturing as the inaugural continuing education and manikin simulation course closed on 13 September at the International Training Center for Temporomandibular Joint Surgery. Convened by Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and co-organized by the International Association of Temporomandibular Joint (IATMJ), the course gave the procedure a common technical foundation that participants could carry back to their own centers.
Because arthroscopic disc repositioning and suturing has long varied from surgeon to surgeon, the course set out to convert that variation into a single, teachable standard — the thread running through every session that followed.
The series of foundational lectures was delivered by Prof. Chi Yang, who also led the demonstrations in the model training that followed, and covered six topics in sequence:
Applied anatomy of the TMJ and intra-articular puncture
Complications of arthroscopic disc repositioning and their prevention and management
Intra- and post-operative evaluation indicators for arthroscopic disc repositioning
The importance of mandibular position control after disc repositioning
The necessity of orthodontics and occlusal reconstruction after disc repositioning
Research and development, use, and maintenance of TMJ arthroscopy instrumentation
Didactics: building a bidirectional surface-to-arthroscopic map. Moving beyond conventional gross-anatomy teaching, the faculty linked the live intra-articular view seen through the arthroscope to bony landmarks, adjacent soft-tissue relations and neurovascular at-risk structures, correlating each in turn so that surgeons could form a two-way “surface-to-arthroscope” mental model — closing the familiar gap in which a surgeon knows the anatomy yet cannot identify structures endoscopically. Each portal’s surface localization, needle angulation and puncture trajectory was then analysed systematically: not merely how to puncture, but why a given approach is chosen and how to adjust after a failed pass, with the technical difficulties, safety margins and causes of failure fully addressed.
Simulation training: from tactile feel to true-to-clinic rehearsal. Participants first rehearsed needle angulation and force control on a simplified basic model, concentrating on the loss-of-resistance “breakthrough” sensation to build tactile familiarity without the distraction of complex anatomy. A video briefing then introduced the head model — which reproduced surface landmarks, soft-tissue thickness and joint-space dimensions to recreate a true patient puncture environment — and participants worked in small groups through the complete localization–puncture–working-portal-establishment sequence, with teaching assistants correcting technique in real time and a VR training station running in parallel throughout. The model training extended across both days and closed with a final summary and the closing ceremony led by Prof. Chi Yang, ensuring a smooth transition from the classroom to clinical surgery.
Confronting the crux, avoiding common errors. The course did not shy away from the most demanding steps. It systematically unpacked how to control puncture direction when overlying soft tissue obscures the needle tip, and how to overcome the loss of orientation caused by the perspective gap between the surface and arthroscopic views. It also set out clear safeguards against frequent errors — mechanically applying a standard puncture angle while ignoring individual variation in soft-tissue thickness (placing the portal too high or too low), excessive insertion force (risking breach of the posterior joint-space wall and injury to adjacent structures) or insufficient force (failing to penetrate the joint capsule), and a disordered sequence when establishing multiple portals — each mapped directly to its clinical risk.
Built for the clinic. For surgeons learning TMJ arthroscopy who want to standardize their puncture technique and reduce operative risk, this course — advancing step by step from applied anatomy to simulation practice — offers a fast route to closing hands-on gaps and sharpening clinical surgical capability.
About IATMJ
The International Association of Temporomandibular Joint (IATMJ) brings together leading clinicians and researchers across seven disciplines and every world region to improve outcomes for patients with temporomandibular joint disorders. As an independent professional authority, it fosters international collaboration, promotes evidence-based care, and champions consistent clinical benchmarks for the diagnosis and management of TMJ conditions globally.
International Association of Temporomandibular Joint
www.iatmj.org | Instagram: @iatmj_org
Media enquiries: secretariat@iatmj.org
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