A COMPARATIVE REVIEW OF 266 MANDIBULAR FRACTURES WITH INTERNAL-FIXATION USING RIGID (AO ASIF) PLATES OR MINI-PLATES/

This study compares the internal fixation of mandibular fractures usin g either rigid 2.7 mm AO/ASIF plates or mini-plates, In the rigid plat e group, 88 fractures were fixed with 88 plates, In the mini-plate gro up, 116 fractures were fixed with 170 plates, All the cases were conse cutive and were treated in two South Wales hospitals during a 3-year p eriod from 1988 to 1991. The aetiology of injury, timing of surgery, s ite of fracture, antibiotic policy and demographic features were evenl y distributed between the two groups but there was a higher incidence of females in the mini-plate group. Both plating systems were successf ul in restoring functional occlusion, Rigid plates avoided the use of postoperative elastics better than mini-plates but the difference was not significant, There was a significantly higher incidence (P=0.013) of infection in the mini-plate (12.9%) compared with the rigid plate ( 2.3%) group but 7.9% of the rigid group developed facial nerve weaknes s, A significantly higher proportion of mini-plates needed to be remov ed (P=0.00019), A better treatment outcome for angle and comminuted fr actures was noted with rigid plates.