Arthrocentesis of the Jaw | Arthritis Information

So, met with Dr. Kevorkian today.  He was not pleased with the MRI that I had last week.  Turns out there is quite a bit of fluid and damage.  Basically, the miniscus on each side in destroyed.  Fun.  We were hoping that the damage would have been caused by osteoarthritis.  That is apparantly pretty common with TMJ issues.  Unfortunately, it is all RA.  That sucks!  He really wants to get in and clean out the joint but it seems that it not the best plan with the Ra.  He says that since the disease process will continue, he can't risk speeding up the arthritis by messing with the joint.  Instead, he is recommending arthrocentesis.  It is done under general anesthetic but is pretty quick.  Unfortunately, he wants to do it the Wed. before Thanksgiving.  He only does this procedure on Wednesdays and that way I can have Thurs. and Friday off from work anyway.  I should be able to go back to work that next week-well, if I break out the science videos.  I have no sick days, especially after my little guy has had the double pneumonia the past week.  Those were days off without pay.  Also, I have met my deductible for the year so we need to get it in before Jan.  And, if he ends up wanting to do more, he can get in again before '09.