The Quality of Life of Patients with Surgically Treated Mandibular Fractures and the Relationship of the Posttraumatic Pain and Trismus with the Postoperative Complications: A Prospective Study

Abstract

Background and objectives: Due to the fact that the mandible is the only movable bone in the face, it is often exposed to the influence of external forces. The incidence of trismus and posttraumatic pain in unilateral mandibular corpus fractures may be related to the occurrence of complications. There is a decrease in the quality of life of these patients. The aim was to study the relationship of the preoperative pain and trismus with the incidence of complications, as well as to investigate the quality of life. Materials and Methods: A prospective study on 60 patients with isolated mandibular fractures was performed, with a follow-up period of six months. The level of preoperative pain was measured on a 0–10 scale, while the mouth opening was measured with a caliper. All patients were treated surgically on the third day after the fracture. The University of Washington Quality of Life (UW-QOL v4) questionnaire was used to analyze the quality of life. Results: The most common types of complications were the occlusal derangement and facial asymmetry. The majority of complications were treated with counseling and physical therapy. The degree of preoperative pain was significantly positively related to the onset of complications (rs = 0.782, p = 0.004). The interincisal distance showed a significant inverse relation with the incidence of complications (rs = −0.722, p < 0.001). The patients regarded the pain, appearance and mood issues as the most important issues during the first postoperative month. Conclusions: The degree of inflammatory symptoms may be positively related to the onset of complications occurring after the rigid fixation of mandibular fractures. The postoperative health-related and overall quality of life was unsatisfactory in nearly half of the patients.

Prevalence of Anesthesia Complications in Orthopedic Surgeries and its Related Factors

“…These complications were more frequent in limb fracture surgery. The present study data were consistent with those of Boljevic et al (2019). The results of their study revealed that the type of surgery was associated with postoperative complications.…”

“…The results of their study revealed that the type of surgery was associated with postoperative complications. In other words, complications were more prevalent after traumatic fractures (Boljevic et al 2019). The results suggested that tachycardia is more prevalent in patients with complete intravenous anesthesia and a surgery duration of more than an hour.…”

The quality of life in the treatment of maxillofacial fractures using open reduction: A prospective study

“…It was mostly attributed to pain, appearance, and mood issues during postoperative period. 28 Conversely, a prospective study with more follow-up time points by Kaukola et al reported a finding similar to the current study. Among daily, weekly, and monthly follow-up score assessments; the peak improvement in the quality of life was observed at one month after surgery and continued to increase to a lesser extent.…”

Facial Fractures Have Similar Outcomes When Managed by Either Otolaryngology or Plastic Surgery: Encounters From a Single Level I Trauma Center

“…For instance, among patients with mandible fractures, 7% to 29% suffer complications, of which a majority of these complications are malocclusion and have delayed presentations. 16,17 Thus, our data, which demonstrated no difference in 30-day complications or re-admission between patients managed by either ENT or PS at our institution, further emboldens our perspective that management by either ENT or PS results in similar patient outcomes, and that we can reassure patients that they will receive similar care regardless of which specialty is managing their FFs. 4 The only exception being a difference in malocclusion when performing ORIF, which merits further study.…”