Miniplate removal in mandibular trauma patients-a single institution retrospective study

Abstract

Fractures of the facial skeleton have become common with increased road traffic accidents and other injuries. Functional osteosynthesis using miniplates have become the standard of care in the management of maxillofacial trauma. It has been suggested that they are suitable as permanent implants because of their biological compatibility. Nevertheless, mini plates also have a complication rate, which varies between different studies, thereby requiring removal. The aim of this study is to evaluate the frequency of plate removal posttreatment for mandibular trauma. This is a retrospective study. We reviewed patient records and analysed the data of 86000 patients between June 2019 and March 2020. A total of 35 patients underwent treatment for mandibular trauma during this period. Each of those case sheets were reviewed and telephonic cross-verification done to account any cases of plate removal and plate related complications among these patients. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS Version 20 by IBM. The results were analysed using chi-square test. In this study, we observe that the number of plates placed in the mandible for trauma in one year are 35. The incidence of trauma are more in males than females. Among this only one plate was removed in one year with an implication of only 0.02% of the incidence of plate removal in one-year time post mandibular trauma. Within the limits of the study, the incidence of plate removal post mandibular trauma is 0.02% in one year period of time. This shows that miniplates removal can be minimized if proper surgical and postsurgical care are followed.