World's First International Training Center of TMJ Surgery Accredited in Shanghai — Setting the Global Benchmark for Simulation-Based TMJ Education

On 20 April 2026, the International Training Center of Temporomandibular Joint Surgery in Shanghai received formal accreditation as an Official International Training Center of Excellence in TMJ Surgery from the German Surgical Foundation (Deutsche Chirurgischestiftung, DCS), under the academic framework of Yang's Global TMJ Project. The Certificate, signed by Univ. Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Ulrich Joos, President of the DCS, is valid for five years until 20 April 2031. The Center will be incorporated into the structured training curriculum of the International Association of Temporomandibular Joint (IATMJ) and serves as the inaugural model for IATMJ-affiliated simulation training centers worldwide.

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A New Standard for TMJ Simulation Training

The accreditation of the International Training Center of Temporomandibular Joint Surgery in Shanghai establishes, for the first time globally, a dedicated, purpose-built facility for simulation-based TMJ endoscopic surgical education. Within its 500 m² surgical training hall, ten stations — each equipped with a 4K high-definition endoscopic system and a high-precision anatomical manikin model — allow surgeons to practice the full procedural sequence of endoscopic disc repositioning, instrument navigation, and open TMJ surgical techniques in a structured, patient-free environment. A separate 100 m² standardized theory lecture center, equipped with live synchronized online and offline broadcast systems, extends the Centre's educational reach to surgeons across multiple countries simultaneously.

This facility sets an evidence-based, operationally defined standard for what a dedicated TMJ simulation training center should be — in terms of equipment specification, spatial design, curriculum integration, and quality assurance. It becomes the inaugural benchmark model against which all future IATMJ-affiliated simulation centers worldwide will be designed and evaluated.

Incorporated into IATMJ's Global Training Curriculum

The Shanghai Center is formally incorporated into the IATMJ progressive surgical training pathway, serving as the primary simulation and preclinical skills hub for Tier 2 (Clinical) and Tier 3 (Advanced / Fellowship) training within IATMJ's three-tier modular curriculum. Surgeons enrolled in IATMJ credentialing programs — from the IATMJ Diploma (DIATMJ) through to the Fellowship (FIATMJ) — will complete structured simulation modules at this Center as a prerequisite before advancing to live surgery observation and cadaveric training.

The Center operates under the direction of Professor Chi Yang, Director of the German Surgical Foundation (DCS)’s Global TMJ Project and originator of the Yang Endoscopic Disc Repositioning Method — a technique practiced at this facility in its most systematic and reproducible form, aligned with the standardized competency benchmarks set jointly by IATMJ and the DCS. The Centre is designed to deliver six to eight structured international training courses annually, welcoming surgeons from across Asia, Europe, and beyond. Since the facility's precursor program began hosting international physicians in 2005, over 103 surgeons from Europe, Asia, and Africa have undergone structured training in Shanghai in TMJ endoscopic and joint replacement surgery.

Accreditation by the German Surgical Foundation

The accreditation by the German Surgical Foundation (Deutsche Chirurgischestiftung, DCS) — IATMJ's independent credentialing body and the institution responsible for surgical quality assurance benchmarks across the IATMJ training network — confers upon this Center the status of Official International Training Center of Excellence in TMJ Surgery. The Certificate acknowledges the Center's demonstrated excellence in clinical practice, its structured and layered training programs, and its commitment to high standards in TMJ diagnostics, minimally invasive and open surgical techniques, and interdisciplinary treatment approaches. As a DCS-accredited center, it serves as a formally recognized international platform for postgraduate education, clinical training, and academic exchange.

The accreditation connects this Center to IATMJ's broader simulation and training network — which encompasses cadaveric training sites at Semmelweis University (Budapest), the Medical University of Innsbruck, and Mahidol University (Thailand) — creating a coherent, geographically distributed global training infrastructure governed by shared academic standards and quality review cycles. Shanghai's designation as the network's primary simulation hub reflects both the unparalleled clinical volume of Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital and the global reach of the Global TMJ Project led by Prof. Chi Yang.

A Blueprint for the Future

IATMJ intends to use this Center's design, accreditation framework, and operational model as the formal template for expanding IATMJ-affiliated simulation training centers in Europe, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Americas. Future centers seeking IATMJ and DCS affiliation will be evaluated against the equipment, curriculum, and governance standards established in Shanghai — ensuring that as the Association grows, its commitment to reproducible, evidence-based, and patient-safe surgical training remains the defining characteristic of every center that carries its name. The establishment of this Center, with the generous support of Shanghai RiGS Medical Instrument Co., Ltd., represents not simply an institutional opening, but the founding of a new discipline within TMJ education — one that will shape how the next generation of TMJ surgeons worldwide learn their craft.

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