Postoperative wound dehiscence in mandibular fractures.

Objective: To clarify the occurrence and causes of non-infection-related surgical wound dehiscence (SWD) in intraorally treated mandibular fractures.

Material and methods: Patients with one or two fractures of the dentate part of the mandible treated surgically via an intraoral approach were included in this retrospective study. The primary outcome variable was SWD. Associations between patient-, fracture- and surgery-related variables and SWD were evaluated.

Results: Altogether 232 patients with 270 mandibular angle, body, symphysis and/or parasymphysis fractures were included in the analysis. In all, 22 SWDs were detected. These occurred in 9.5% of patients and in 8.1% of fractures. Surgery performed at night-time showed a significantly higher SWD rate than daytime surgeries (p = .012). Additionally, a significantly greater SWD rate was found among smokers (p = .041). Other studied variables remained statistically non-significant for SWD. In a multivariate analysis, night-time was the only significant independent variable with an odds ratio of 3.297 (95% CI 1.238 - 8.780, p = .017) for SWD.

Conclusion: The approach or closure technique used and the fracture type had only a minor effect on non-infection-related SWD in patients with mandibular fractures. To avoid SWDs, mandibular fracture surgeries should be conducted during the daytime with adequate support from an experienced surgeon.