ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Various methods are deployed by an oral and maxillofacial surgeon to control the osteotomised/ fractured bony segments intraoperatively till the time a stable fixation in the desired position is achieved. Few of these include the use of bone holding crocodile forceps, towel clips, reduction forceps, wires, digital control (Thota and Mitchell in Br J Orthod 26(4):325, 1999). In our technique, we present the use of an IMF screw to manipulate bony segments intraoperatively. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used this novel technique in a series of 12 patients. An IMF screw was fixed in the greatest bulk of the bony fragment so as to control it and hold it in the desired position in various surgical procedures. CONCLUSION: This technique was found to be minimally invasive and easy to perform to achieve a good hold and control of the bony segments.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: In maxillofacial surgery, children represent a special group of patients, as they have significant differences from adults as far as the facial skeleton is concerned. The etiology and epidemiology of pediatric trauma involving the facial skeleton has been reported in a large series of patients. Nevertheless, few of these reports review large numbers of pediatric patients, and little is known about treatment protocols for fractures in children. The aims of this study were to retrospectively analyze the treatment methods and outcomes of pediatric mandibular fractures in children and young adolescents up to the age of 15 years, to discuss the findings, and to propose treatment protocols for maxillofacial fractures in childhood. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study retrospectively analyzed the treatment methods and outcome of the pediatric mandibular fractures in children and young adolescents' up to the age of 15 years over a period of 5 years. All patients were followed up for an average period of 18 months, with a maximum follow-up of 2 years. A total of 74 patients were treated for mandibular and dentoalveolar fractures in children upto the age of 15 years at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Nair Hospital Dental College, Mumbai from 2007 to 2012. RESULTS: AND CONCLUSIONS: The treatment methods used at our centre had satisfactory outcomes at the end of a follow-up period of 2 years. Reported complications were minimal. Our results confirm the usefulness of open reduction and plate fixation in older children (>12 years of age) and a conservative approach in younger children (≤12 years of age) in treating mandibular fractures.
