Minimally invasive bioabsorbable bone plates for rigid internal fixation of mandible fractures
Curtis Gaball1, Scott Lovald, Bret Baack
1Ear, Nose and Throat Department, Naval Medical Center San Diego, 34520 Bob Wilson Dr, San Diego, CA 92130, USA.
Objectives:
To optimize design variables of a bioabsorbable bone plate using a finite element model of the mandible and to discover a minimally invasive bioabsorbable bone plate design that can provide the same mechanical stability as a titanium plate.
Methods:
A finite element model of a mandible with a fracture in the body was subjected to bite loads. An analysis was run to determine the principal strain in the fracture callus and von Mises stress in a titanium plate. These values were then set as the limits within which the bioabsorbable bone plate must comply. The model then considered a bone plate made of the polymer poly(L-lactide-co-D,L-lactide) (P[L/DL]LA) 70/30. An optimization routine determined the smallest volume of bioabsorbable bone plate that can perform as well as a titanium bone plate when fixating mandibular fractures.
Results:
A P(L/DL)LA plate volume of 315 mm(2) with a thickness of 1.5 mm provided as much mechanical stability as a commonly used titanium strut structure of 172 mm(2). The peak plate stress was well below the yield strength of the material.
Conclusions:
The P(L/DL)LA bioabsorbable bone plate design is as strong as a titanium plate when fixating fractures of the mandible body despite the polymer material having only 6% of the stiffness of the titanium. The P(L/DL)LA plate can be less than half the volume of its strut-style counterpart.
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