Minimally Invasive "Trocar-Free" Approach for Rear Mandibular Fractures Management

The request of minimally invasive surgery is progressively expanding the indications of endoscopically assisted intraoral access for mandibular traumas. The aim of our study is to assess how much the use of the angled drill may affect the outcome of patients treated for rear mandibular fracture. In our retrospective case-control trial we enrolled 36 patients with mandibular rear fractures treated through endoscopically assisted intraoral access. Eighteen patients were treated by using an angled drill ''trocar free,'' and 18 treated by linear drills placed through trocars. Surgical times, hospitalization times (HT), and major complications rate were compared between the 2 groups. Group 1 showed a significant reduction in HT (1.72 versus 2.22 days, P = 0.024) and an increase in the surgical times (3.0 versus 2.53 hours, P = 0.019). Significant reduction of total amount of complication was seen in group 1 versus group 2 ( P = 0.007). The ''trocar free'' approach allowed by angled drills, in our hands, greatly reduces the invasiveness of the surgery resulting in a significant reduction in HT and smaller share of vascular-nervous sequelae. Our results suggest the ''trocar free'' approach as a valuable choice when indicated for the treatment of rear mandibular fractures.