[Treatment of jaw fractures in the Göttingen minipig]

The Freiburg tension plate was used with Göttingen minipigs not particularly to determine the clinical relevance but rather to facilitate animal experiments with the minipig which are impossible with splints or wire. Our studies showed that the AO-mandibular-DC plates with 45 degrees arrangement of apertures used in the clinical field are also suitable for fragment stabilization with minipigs, even though the masticatory force is considerably greater than with humans. A functionally stable osteosynthesis was achieved in animal experiments, whereby the masticatory function of the minipigs was not disturbed. The fractures healed without complications.