title: Complicated late mandibular fracture following third molar removal.
abstract: Mandibular fractures are a rare complication after third molar removal. Symptoms show a wide variance. Treatment options range from prescription of a soft diet to surgical treatment by open reduction and internal fixation. This article describes a patient who presented a late mandibular fracture following third molar removal. The fracture was not detectable in radiographs at the time of fracture. Six weeks after the reported cracking noise, the patient presented a mandibular fracture with associated osteomyelitis. Treatment by open reduction and internal fixation and autologous iliac crest graft was performed via a submandibular approach. The delayed diagnosis of this pathologic fracture demonstrates the necessity of repeated radiologic controls to prevent osteomyelitis when a fracture is suspected.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany. kai.wolfgang.wagner@uniklinik-freiburg.de
authors.forename: Kai Wolfgang
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schoen
authors.forename: Chanchai
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wongchuensoontorn
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schmelzeisen
mesh_terms: D001860:Bone Plates; D005593:Fracture Fixation, Internal; D005598:Fractures, Spontaneous / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D019248:Jaw Fixation Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008297:Male; D008336:Mandibular Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D008337:Mandibular Fractures / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D008964:Molar, Third / Q000601:surgery*; D010019:Osteomyelitis / Q000209:etiology; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000009:adverse effects*