Comparison of lag screws and double Y-shaped miniplates in the fixation of anterior mandibular fractures

BACKGROUND: Mandibular fractures constitute about 80.79% of maxillofacial injuries in Alexandria University, either as isolated mandibular fractures or as a part of panfacial fractures. The combination of symphyseal and parasymphyseal fractures represent 47.09% of the total mandibular fractures. AIM: To compare the effectiveness of lag screws vs double Y-shaped miniplates in the fixation of anterior mandibular fractures. METHODS: This study is a prospective randomized controlled clinical trial, performed on sixteen patients with anterior mandibular fractures. Patients were divided equally into two groups, each consisting of eight patients. Group 1: Underwent open reduction and internal fixation using two lag screws. Group 2: Underwent open reduction and internal fixation using double Y-shaped plates. The following parameters were assessed: operating time in minutes, pain using a visual analog scale, edema, surgical wound healing for signs and symptoms of infection, occlusion status and stability, maximal mouth opening, and sensory nerve function. Cone beam computed tomography was performed at 3 and 6 mo to measure bone density and assess the progression of fracture healing. RESULTS: The study included 13 males (81.3%) and 3 females (18.8%) aged 26 to 45 years (mean age was 35.69 ± 6.01 years). The cause of trauma was road traffic accidents in 10 patients (62.5%), interpersonal violence in 3 patients (18.8%) and other causes in 3 patients (18.8%). The fractures comprised 10 parasymphyseal fractures (62.5%) and 6 symphyseal fractures (37.5%). The values of all parameters were comparable in both groups with no statistically significant difference except for the mean bone density at 3 mo postoperatively which was 946.38 ± 66.29 in group 1 and 830.36 ± 95.53 in group 2 (P = 0.015). CONCLUSION: Both lag screws and double Y-shaped miniplates provide favorable means of fixation for mandibular fractures in the anterior region. Fractures fixed with lag screws show greater mean bone density at 3 mo post-operation, indicative of higher primary stability and faster early bone healing. Further studies with larger sample sizes are required to verify these conclusions.