A surgical procedure where stiff or ankylosed joints are cut or separated to restore partial or full movement.
From Greek 'ankylo-' (stiff) combined with '-tomy' (from 'tome', cutting). A standard surgical procedure name following Greek/Latin medical terminology patterns.
Before modern joint replacement, ankylotomy was the main way to help people with frozen joints—surgeons literally had to break and reset the joint to get it moving again. Now we have better options, but the procedure saved millions from permanent immobility.
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