Prognosis of diacapitular condylar fractures: a multivariate analysis

The choice of treatment for diacapitular condylar fractures remains in dispute among oral and maxillofacial surgeons. A multivariate retrospective study was designed to compare the prognosis after conservative treatment and surgery, and to explore further indications for management. From 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2017, 169 patients with diacapitular condylar fractures were included. Relevant preoperative data were collected, and the prognoses assessed. Three ordinal logistic regression models were constructed to study the factors that affected prognosis, and these showed that all patients treated by open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) tended to have a better prognosis than those treated with conservative treatment (adult: odds ratio (OR)=6.166, p=0.000, and children: OR=12.195, p=0.029). Adult patients with lateral dislocation of the stump of the ramus out of the glenoid fossa tended to have the highest risk of a poor prognosis, followed by those with anteromedial displacement of the disc and loss of the height of the ramus of over 5mm. Only the type of treatment affected the prognosis for children. In conclusion, these findings suggest that ORIF is the preferred method of treatment for patients with diacapitular condylar fractures. The absolute indications for ORIF in adult patients with diacapitular condylar fractures include lateral dislocation of the stump of the ramus out of the glenoid fossa, anteromedial displacement of the disc, and loss of height of the ramus of over 5mm. There are no absolute indications for ORIF in children.