Oral Cavity
Any intraoral procedures such as application of maxillomandibular fixation (arch bars, Oliver Loops, fixation screws, etc.) should be completed before skin preparation and final sterile draping. All contaminated intraoral instruments and power equipment must remain separate from the sterile instruments to be used in the sterile surgical field. After appropriate skin preparation, in unilateral cases, a plastic- adhesive isolation drape (e.g., 1010 Steri-drape®[1]) should be used from the contralateral submental area to the ipsilateral temporal area to isolate the mouth from the sterile surgical field. This type of draping allows access to the oral cavity while maintaining sterility at the surgical sites [30]. In bilateral TMJ TJR cases, to avoid contamination when turning the head, the mouth should be sealed with a plastic- adhesive occlusive dressing (Tegaderm Film®[2] or Opsite®[3]). The sutured NET and the nose can be further isolated using the bilateral 1010 Steri-drapes, as described above, folding the loose ends together over the NET and the nose in a sterile fashion. The loose ends should be sealed together using Steri-Strips®[2] [30].
