The comparative strength of laryngeal fracture fixation.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the fixation strength provided by miniplate fixation, wire-tube batten fixation, and wire fixation alone in repair of thyroid cartilage.


METHODS
Segments 2.5-cm wide x 1-cm long were cut from three fresh, frozen, human cadaveric larynges from an 83-year-old man, a 58-year-old woman, and an unknown cadaver. A vertical fracture was induced and repaired with one of three randomly assigned fixation techniques (n=10 in each fixation group). The repaired cartilage was placed in an Instron Universal Testing Device (Boston, MA) and subjected to a three-point bending test. Load to failure was recorded on an analogue graph.


RESULTS
All reconstruction techniques significantly differed from each other, with miniplate fixation providing a stronger repair than wire tube batten (P < .05), wire tube batten providing a stronger repair than wire alone (P < .01), and miniplate providing a stronger repair than wire alone (P < .001).


CONCLUSIONS
In experimentally induced fractures of the human larynx, miniplate fixation consistently yielded the strongest repair. Although both miniplate and wire batten produced excellent anatomic reaction, we feel that miniplate fixation was easier to perform.
Lykins
C L
CL
Department of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery, University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle 98195, USA.
Pinczower
E F
EF
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001860:Bone Plates; D001864:Bone Wires; D002102:Cadaver; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012421:Rupture; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013957:Thyroid Cartilage / Q000293:injuries* / Q000502:physiology / Q000601:surgery*