Mr Deepak Komath

Written by a patient at The Kings Oak Hospital - part of Circle Health Group

I am writing this review in 2 parts; first part about Mr Komath specifically, and the second part about my entire TMJ surgery journey (as I found there is so little on the internet about this procedure and so discussed writing it up here with Mr Komath), so if you don't care about that bit, just read the first bit :-) Mr Komath I found Mr Komath to be very professional, knowledgeable, and friendly. He explained everything to me and answered any questions I had, and is clearly one of the best in his field at this kind of surgery. I always felt very safe in his hands and trusted him completely. I would have no hesitation recommending Mr Komath for your TMJ surgery. My TMJ Surgery Journey My TMJ journey started years ago (10+??), with clicking in my jaw and some jaw pain. Sadly I ignored it, even when it progressed to occasionally getting stuck (restricted opening), as I could always "unstick" it myself by forcing it open. Eventually I had an episode where I couldn't unstick it, and this lasted for 3 days... once again I didn't go to the doctors about it, as I thought it was just one of those things, and eventually I had managed to unstick it myself. I began to notice I couldn't eat things like I used to be able to without pain, for example if I ate a pizza with a chewy crust it would hurt my jaw so much I couldn't finish my meal. Then, in March 2020, my jaw got stuck, and it never re-opened. I am pretty sure it was stress that caused it (it was the start of the pandemic). It felt different this time, "more stuck" I guess, it is difficult to explain, but I knew it was worse and wasn't going to re-open. I had only 1.5 fingers width of movement, and it was extremely uncomfortable and impacted my daily life. I was luckily covered by private insurance, and found Mr Komath was one of my surgeon options, so I organised a consultation with him through his PA Nicky, who was always prompt and helpful. Due to the pandemic the consultation was over the phone, however it was a positive experience and Mr Komath explained things to me quickly, and told me what he believed my issue to be, and advised that I needed an MRI to confirm it, which was arranged quickly. The Results showed I had bilateral Wilkes Stage 3 (advanced) degeneration of the TMJ and internal derangement of the joint without reduction (which means my discs were stuck in a forward position). I also had synovitis which meant the synovial fluid in the joint was inflamed. Essentially this all meant that my jaw joints on both sides were old and craggy before their time, and this had caused the discs to slip forward and get stuck in a forward position, which meant my jaw would not open as the discs were in the way. Mr Komath advised I would need a bilateral (both sides) TMJ Arthroscopy lysis and lavage, to wash out the joints and reposition the discs, as well as a PRP injection (Platelet-Rich Plasma) to aid the healing. He advised that the surgery would cut the cycle of degeneration to give the joints a chance to heal, and without the surgery it would continue to get worse and my jaw would remain stuck. He advised that 85% of people get better with the treatment, although some people will require multiple treatments. The risks were explained to me and what would happen during and after surgery, including that I would need physiotherapy afterwards. Due to the pandemic, no elective surgery was happening, so I had to wait until October, but eventually my op date rolled around. By this time I had around 2 fingers width of movement in my jaw, but there was a constant "stuck" and stretched feeling and dull pain, which was worse on the right side, and it hurt to eat. On the date of the operation, I checked into the hospital at my allotted time (4pm), which was all smooth and went well. I was visited by the anesthetist and Mr Komath, who answered any questions I had, and then was taken to surgery about 5:30pm. I was woken up after surgery at some time after 7pm, and wheeled back to my room at some point. My letter from the hospital had advised that I would be sent home the same day, and one of the pre-surgery phone calls had advised me that this would probably be around 9pm, however the nurses on duty were surprised I had been told I would go home the same day, having had the surgery so late in the day, and were quite keen for me to stay overnight. At one point I thought I was going to be sick, and at that point agreed to stay overnight. It wasn't a comfortable night but that was to be expected. I had ice packs on each side of my face, was sitting quite upright, and generally feeling as you might imagine after surgery. I had two steri strips on each side of my face, very close to my ears, covering the keyhole surgery holes, and my face was quite swollen. I had limited movement on the right side of my face which was a bit scary, but normal after this kind of surgery as it stretches the nerves. The nursing staff did everything they could to make me comfortable though. I even managed to each a couple of yoghurts at about 11pm. By about 10:30pm I could also move most of my face again, which was a relief. My lip was pretty bruised; from the tubes I guess. I obviously had limited movement and opening of my jaw, but I could speak, if somewhat sounding a little weird, like I was clenching my teeth. I wasn't really in much pain. By the morning I was able to eat a bowl of porridge. There was a dull pain, and more when I moved my jaw (yawning was definitely not allowed!), but honestly I was so pleased at the amount of pain. About 7 years ago I had my tonsils out and that was a horrendously painful experience, so this was a breeze in comparison. I was discharged by about 9am, and went home to recover. The first few days I was quite swollen, still had limited movement of my jaw (about 1 fingers width), and only ate very soft foods like porridge, soup, mashed potato, baked beans, scrambled eggs etc. Eating was a bit painful, but not too bad. Eating did take a long time though. I was very conscious of anything touching my head at all, and wore ice packs on my face almost round the clock for the first 3 days, as well as slept lying sitting up in bed for about a week. They tell you to sleep sitting up to keep the swelling down, but also you don't feel like you want to lie on your side at all as then your surgery wounds would be against the pillow, which would obviously be uncomfortable. I managed to start sleeping on my side after about a week, and it was surprisingly pain-free. It never got very painful. I managed on only paracetamol and ice packs, and after about 4/5 days I stopped taking paracetamol. I had a taste of blood in my mouth for about a week; I guess somewhere inside it was weeping whilst it healed and that was dripping into my throat. I took a week off work and did feel like I needed that much time. I felt quite exhausted by the surgery, and even though it wasn't hugely painful, my body was definitely telling me I needed to rest and get better slowly. I took short walks every day, starting on day 2, and waited for 2 weeks before doing any other kind of exercise. I started the jaw stretching exercises on about day 3, when I felt able to, and just went slowly. Again, it wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. I did 20 x 3 times a day, so 60 in total, of prizing my jaw open using my fingers and holding for about 3 seconds. Slowly my jaw began to open wider and wider. By about the 2 week point I was back to pre-surgery amount (2 fingers width), and now as I write this 6 weeks after surgery, I have 2 fingers width without trying, and this increases to 3 fingers width after I have done my stretching exercises. I am hoping this will continue to improve. The "stuck" feeling I had before surgery is most definitely gone, which is a great relief. My steri strips got darker and I could after a few days see the scabs underneath on each incision site, and after about 10 days they fell off, revealing the incision sites which each had a stitch in them. After 3.5 weeks I accidentally pulled one of my stitches out when I went to take off my mask by the elastic straps. Ouch! It didn't bleed or anything though, so it must have been ready. Around a week later the second stitch on the same side disappeared somewhere, and I still have the two stitches in the other side hanging on (it is 6 weeks today since my surgery). After 5 weeks I had my follow up with Mr Komath, who told me that the surgery went well, but that when he went in, he saw that I have a tear in my right disc (the side that hurt more) so he could not position it fully back in place, and there is no way to repair this tear now, so it is a lifelong management kind of thing. He confirmed that I will likely need the surgery again in the future, and referred me to physiotherapy, which would help to keep the disc from slipping in the future (I haven't had this appointment yet as I write this). Mr Komath advised me to do some other exercises (rolling my tongue all the way to the back of my throat then moving my mouth open and closed), as well as keep on with the jaw stretching exercises, I asked when I should stop doing these, and he said I shouldn't stop, so I still do them everyday. I guess the physiotherapist will be specific about the exercises I need to do and for how long.

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Written by a patient at One Hatfield Hospital

Procedure and consultation both went smoothly and without complication. Mr Komath was professional throughout.

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Written by a patient at St John & St Elizabeth Hospital

Mr Komath offered great care from the first meeting to the last. He talked through all of the risks of the procedure and listened to my fears and was also able to reassure me. The procedure went really well and I had no problems before or after. He was always professional and always on time! I would not hesitate in using him again.

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Written by a patient at The Royal Free Hospital

Ive suffered with jaw pain for going on 4 years I suffer with SLE Lupus and have alot of joint pain involvement and arthritic changes. I previously had 2 Arthrocentisis to clear the effected joint out but with only minimal change. Life at that time was unbearable with horrendous pain and on lots of pain relief.My life at qork had stopped and I was unable to function due to pain. Simple tasks like laughing yawning eating became a heavy task due to the restrictions in my jaw. I was taking Morphiene every day for nearly 16 months. I finally had my TMJ replaced by Doctor Komath in May 2019 although it was a long journey to that point it has been completly life changing for me. I was extremly apprehensive about the surgery but knew it was the only real relief I would have from the chronic pain. Everything was explained carefully and thoroughly to ensure I understood the scale of the surgery and the pros and cons. I myself did some extensive research regarding the procedure and also read other patients stories which was extremly helpful as it gave me first hand knowledge around the procedure. knowing how I would be post surgery was also very important right up until my surgery day was kept informed. 8 months on im healing well amazing really I have a very fine scar line I do suffer with nerve involvement still but am seeing the pain team for that Ive had a round of nerve blockers to kill that pain and so far its helping. I have some niggles of pain in the jaw but it really is unbelievable to me to remember the actual pain I was in. Along this journey I have tried various remedies for my own well being such as meditation and yoga and lthough they dont take pain away for me it was so important and still is to find other ways to cope with chronic pain. Being educated in your condition and procedures is of vital importance to fully understand and recieve the best care and advice moving forward. As I said before this surgery has been life changing and I can't thank Doctor Komath and his team enough.

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Written by a patient at The Kings Oak Hospital - part of Circle Health Group

Dr Komath is absolutely brilliant. Following over a year of increasingly worsening TMJ issues which resulted in my jaw joint locking, Dr Komath performed a jaw joint arthroscopy on both sides on me in September 2019. I felt very comfortable under Dr Komaths care - he’s incredibly skilled, knowledgeable and personable. After a thorough assessment and an MRI scan he promptly booked me in for surgery, explaining every step simply and clearly along the way. The surgery was quick and effective. Post-surgery, for 2 weeks I experienced limited jaw movement, mostly stuck to a liquid/soup diet and the pain was manageable. After a month I felt very much recovered, my diet was back to normal and I started to really notice the benefits of the surgery - mostly the range of movement I now had again with my jaw. I noticed some sound sensitivity for a while, but nothing significant. After my 6 week check up, Dr Komath referred me for physiotherapy just to ensure my recovery stayed on the right track and that’s been invaluable to soften the muscles around my jaw joint. I’m now 4 months post-surgery and thrilled with the progress and results. This surgery has solved all my TMJ issues and I can’t recommend Dr Komath enough! He’s a fantastic consultant and surgeon, a master of his craft and it’s been a pleasure to trust him with my care.

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