PRIMARY MANDIBULAR RECONSTRUCTION WITH THE TITANIUM HOLLOW SCREW RECONSTRUCTION PLATE - EVALUATION OF 51 CASES

Fifty-one patients undergoing surgical reconstruction of mandibular defects with the titanium hollow screw reconstruction plate over a 4-year period were analyzed. Plate failure was defined as flap necrosis, plate extrusion, or plate fracture necessitating a further surgical procedure and occurred in 12 patients (24 percent). The incidence was highest for patients who had more than three mandibular regions resected. It was not affected by the primary site of the tumor or whether the patient had received radiation therapy. Although the failure rate was the same whether the patient attained full oral function or was fed by gastrostomy, plate fracture was limited to the former group. The overall cause-specific survival rate for this group of patients was 68 and 56 percent at 1 and 2 years, respectively. In addition, 81 percent of patients attained a full oral diet.