The complications associated with the use of rigid internal fixation i
n 31 consecutive patients who had undergone a mandibulotomy for the tr
eatment of pathology of the oral cavity or oropharynx were reviewed. R
igid fixation was accomplished with two major types of systems: compre
ssion plates and reconstruction plates. Complications occurred in 11 p
atients (35%) with an average of 1.7 complications per patient. Most c
omplications were minor in nature, and were treated successfully with
conservative measures. Patients who had preoperative radiotherapy were
more likely to develop nonunion and osteoradionecrosis. Plate exposur
e was the single, most common complication, accounting for 13% of the
complications. No major differences were noted in the complication rat
es between the two systems.