Abstract
The success of treatment for condylar fractures is usually assessed by functional
outcomes, while studies on patient perceptions are scarce. A cross-sectional study
was performed to assess the middle-term quality of life, related to both general health
and oral health, of patients treated for subcondylar fracture, either by open reduction
or by closed fixation, compared to healthy volunteers. In a single trauma centre,
among 226 consecutive patients with subcondylar fractures that were treated in years
2018–2019 (two to three years prior to the survey), 148 fulfilled the selection criteria.
They were classified as those with other facial fractures that were treated by open
reduction (n = 79), and those without other fractures that were treated either by
open reduction (n = 34) or by closed fixation (n = 35). An age matched group of healthy
volunteers (n = 65) also participated in the study. All participants replied to the
Short-Form-Health-Survey (SF-36) and the Oral-Health-Impact-Profile (OHIP-49), using
the social messenger platform WhatsApp. The SF-36 showed that patients with closed-fixation
reported better mental health than patients with open reduction, but worse than healthy
volunteers. Contrariwise, on the OHIP-49, compared to patients with open reduction
(with/without other facial fractures) and to healthy volunteers, patients with closed-fixation
reported worse quality of life on physical pain, psychological discomfort, and physical
disability. The influence of age was evident just on the OHIP-49, on the report of
physical limitation and physical pain. Two to three years after the subcondylar fracture,
patients treated either by open reduction or closed fixation might report decreased
quality of life compared to healthy volunteers; patients treated by open reduction
might report lesser mental health related quality of life (SF-36), but superior oral
health related quality of life (OHIP-49) than patients treated by closed fixation.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 02, 2023
Accepted:
January 30,
2023
Received in revised form:
January 5,
2023
Received:
September 13,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2023 The British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
