Five-Year Retrospective Study of Mandibular Fractures in Freiburg, Germany: Incidence, Etiology, Treatment, and Complications

Abstract

To evaluate current trends in maxillofacial trauma, a retrospective review of mandibular fractures at a German university hospital was carried out. In this retrospective study, records of 444 patients with mandibular fractures between 2000 and 2005 at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital of Freiburg, Germany, were reviewed. A total of 444 patients presented with 696 mandibular fractures. Three hundred twenty-nine (74%) of the fractures occurred in male and 115 (26%) in female patients (2.9:1). One hundred forty-two fractures (32%) resulted from road traffic accidents, 126 from fights (28%), and 116 from falls (26%). Forty-four fractures were caused by sport accidents (10%) and 16 by pathologic fractures (4%). The mandibular condyle area was the most common fracture site, with 291 fractures (42%), followed by 144 fractures of the symphyseal and parasymphyseal area (21%) and 141 angle fractures (20%). Combined fractures were found in nearly half of the cases. Five hundred seventy-nine (83%) of patients with mandibular fractures were treated by surgical intervention, 117 (17%) of patients conservatively. Regarding the surgical treatment, 561 (65%) miniplates, 247 (29%) locking plates, and 51 (6%) lag screws were used. Complications, such as postoperative infections, abscesses, and osteomyelitis appeared in 66 (9%) cases. We concluded that osteosynthesis of mandibular fractures by miniplates and locking plates are both reliable.