ABSTRACT
The intraoral cortical bone screw fixation technique carries many advantages over traditional methods of intermaxillary fixation. Simplicity of the technique, reduction of operative time, and reduction of risk of transmission of human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis make this an important technique in the armamentarium of busy facial trauma surgeons. Since 1992, 45 mandibular fractures in 29 patients treated with the intraoral cortical bone screw technique for intermaxillary fixation were retrospectively analyzed. At our institution, this technique has become the workhorse method of repairing most mandibular fractures and is associated with minimal complications.
Subject(s)
Bone Screws , Fracture Fixation , Mandibular Fractures/surgery , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Maxilla/surgery , Middle Aged , Retrospective Studies , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
We performed a serosurvey of 133 embalmers in an urban area where human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is prevalent. Although we found histories of needlesticks to be common, and the seropositivity rate of hepatitis B virus (HBV) (13%) was approximately twice that of a blood donor comparison group, HIV antibody was uniformly absent in 129 embalmers who denied HIV risk factors, and present in one of four with self-described risk behaviors. The risk of HBV infection was higher among embalmers who have worked more than 10 years, relative risk (RR) 16.2 (95% confidence interval 2.1, 126.5), did not routinely wear gloves, RR 9.8 (CI 3.4, 28.5), or are employed in the city of Boston, RR 4.7 (CI 1.8, 12.0).
