Complications and Reoperations in Mandibular Angle Fractures

Area of Science:

• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Trauma Surgery
• Orthognathic Surgery

Background:

• Mandible angle fractures are common facial injuries.
• Current surgical repair methods lack consensus on optimal outcomes.
• Postoperative complications and reoperation rates vary significantly.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze patient, injury, and surgical factors influencing outcomes.
• To compare complication and reoperation rates between different surgical approaches.
• To identify predictors of adverse surgical outcomes in mandible angle fracture repair.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of 135 patients with mandible angle fractures.
• Analysis of open reduction and internal fixation outcomes from 2000-2015.
• Comparison of transcervical versus transoral approaches, excluding comminuted fractures.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in major complications or reoperations between transcervical (17.2%, 14.9%) and transoral (18.8%, 16.7%) approaches.
• Active smoking was a significant predictor of major complications (OR 4.04, P=.04).
• Median patient age was 29 years, with 83.7% males.

Conclusions:

• Both transcervical and transoral approaches are equally effective for noncomminuted mandible angle fractures.
• Smoking status is a more critical factor for surgical outcomes than surgical approach.
• Optimizing patient smoking cessation may improve surgical success rates.