Modified Extracorporeal Reduction of the Mandibular Condylar Neck Fracture

Abstract

There are many treatment options in management of mandibular condylar neck fractures. Closed reduction is the most conservative treatment; however, achievement of anatomic reduction is difficult, and there are some risks of mandibular functional impairment. Open anatomic reduction and internal fixation have some advantages; therefore, many oral and maxillofacial surgeons have attempted to achieve anatomic reduction through the open approach and extracorporeal reduction and fixation. However, when using this method, there is some risk of resorption of the fractured mandibular condylar head. Therefore, we designed a modified extracorporeal reduction technique, without detaching the lateral pterygoid muscle in order to maintain the blood supply to the fractured mandibular condylar head. We believe that this minor modification may minimize the risk of resorption of the fractured mandibular condylar head. In this article, we introduce this technique in detail, and report on two cases.