Surgeons Complete Full Reconstructive Arc at AIIMS New Delhi TMJ Cadaver Workshop

Jul 10

3 min read

Updated: Aug 11

IATMJ Vice-President and Asia Chair Prof. Ajoy Roychoudhury convenes the two-day TMJ Reconstruct 2026

New Delhi, India — 10 July 2026. Surgeons gathered at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, for TMJ Reconstruct 2026 – TM Joint Replacement Cadaver Workshop, a two-day programme convened by Prof. Ajoy Roychoudhury, Professor and Head of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the Centre for Dental Education and Research, AIIMS, and Vice-President for Asia of the International Association of Temporomandibular Joint (IATMJ).

The course was designed, in the organisers' words, to bridge the gap between foundational surgical anatomy and advanced reconstructive techniques — a gap that has slowed the adoption of alloplastic total joint replacement (TJR) across Asia, where autogenous reconstruction remains the default.

Opening the first day on 9 July at the SET Facility, Prof. Roychoudhury set out a deliberate progression: anatomy first, autogenous reconstruction second, alloplastic replacement third, and only then the operating field.

The morning established foundations, with Dr Ankur Rustagi on the surgical anatomy of the temporomandibular joint and Dr Debraj Howlader on surgical approaches. Three sessions then covered the autogenous armamentarium in full before any prosthesis was discussed — Dr Kamalpreet Kaur on costochondral grafting, Dr Sujata Mohanty on the sternoclavicular joint graft, and Dr Rahul Yadav on transport disc distraction osteogenesis.

The afternoon turned to alloplastic replacement. Prof. Roychoudhury addressed screening protocols and the indications for alloplastic TMJ replacement — the decision point on which long-term outcomes most often turn. Dr Bhaskar Aggarwal followed on the digital workflow in TMJ-TJR and Dr Shanmuga Sundaram D on sequencing in fixation, before Prof. Roychoudhury closed with concomitant orthognathic surgery and complex reconstruction.

He then led a 90-minute cadaveric demonstration in six stages: the endaural and modified retromandibular approaches, condylectomy and fossa preparation, TJR fixation, and harvest of both costochondral and sternoclavicular grafts. Demonstrating autogenous harvest alongside prosthetic fixation on one specimen reinforced the course’s central message — that the reconstructive surgeon must command both routes and choose between them on indication rather than habit.

Day two, on 10 July, moved to frontiers and failures: Dr Thomas Abraham on patient-specific subperiosteal implants, and Prof. Roychoudhury on complications in alloplastic TMJ-TJR. Delegates then spent four hours in the Department of Anatomy dissection hall in supervised practice with simulated prosthesis fitting, personally performing the procedures demonstrated the previous day. A faculty panel and open questions closed the workshop.

A national reference center with international reach

The AIIMS department performed what was reported as India’s first total TMJ replacement and remains among the country’s foremost units for the procedure. Its case load is dominated by TMJ ankylosis — the leading indication across South Asia — giving it a depth of experience few institutions can match, and its research on bite-force restoration and lateral pterygoid reattachment after reconstruction carries that experience into the international literature.

AIIMS will serve as a key clinical training and academic cornerstone for IATMJ in Asia. Founded on 29 June 2026 in Bangkok by 35 members from 15 countries under Founding President Prof. Chi Yang, the Association looks to the department’s combination of surgical volume, scholarship and teaching capacity as the foundation of its regional programme. Under Prof. Roychoudhury’s leadership as Vice-President for Asia, AIIMS will deliver structured TMJ reconstruction training for the Asian membership and set the academic standard to which courses elsewhere in the region are built.