Our 8 years experience of treating fractures of the edentulous mandible
by miniplate osteosynthesis, is discussed. Forty patients (31 men and 9
women) aged 37 to 86 Sears (mean: 6 1.6 years, SD: +/- 14.07) with 67
fracture sites were treated, The surgical approach was mainly intraoral
(37 out of 40 patients) without the use of intermaxillary fixation, The
postoperative clinical and radiological findings are reported and
discussed.
The advantages of the method are of great importance since immediate
postoperative opening of the mouth is permitted, as the fractured bones
are anatomically stabilized by means of titanium miniplates and screws.
Our results were felt to be satisfactory, with a reoperation rate of
only 3.9% (two out of 51 operated fracture sites, 16 condylar
fractures,were treated conservatively). This allows us to propose
intraoral miniplate osteosynthesis as a routine method of treatment in
cases of edentulous mandibular fractures which are mainly seen in
elderly people
