Do Postoperative Surgeon Phone Calls Improve Outcomes Following Mandibular Fracture Repair?

Area of Science:

• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Trauma Surgery
• Surgical Outcomes Research

Background:

• Complications following open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of mandibular fractures are common.
• Patient factors significantly influence ORIF outcomes.
• The impact of postoperative surgeon calls on these factors and complication rates remains unstudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the incidence of postoperative inflammatory complications (POICs) in patients undergoing ORIF for mandibular fractures.
• To evaluate the effect of a postoperative surgeon phone call on POIC rates.

Main Methods:

• An ambispective cohort study included 178 patients treated with ORIF for mandibular fractures.
• Patients were categorized into three groups: Not Called, Called and Answered, and No Answer.
• POICs were defined as exposed hardware, infection, abscess, recurrent swelling, nonunion, osteomyelitis, or fistula.

Main Results:

• POICs occurred in 9.2% of the Not Called group and 8.9% of the Called and Answered group (P=.99).
• The No Answer group experienced a significantly higher POIC rate of 29.4% (P=.01).
• No significant difference in POIC rates was observed between the Not Called and Called and Answered groups.

Conclusions:

• Postoperative surgeon phone calls did not significantly alter overall complication rates for ORIF mandibular fractures.
• Patients who did not answer the surgeon's call demonstrated a significantly higher risk of POICs.
• This highlights the importance of patient engagement and adherence to postoperative instructions.