Assessment of Patterns of Mandibular Condylar Fractures: A Study from Multan

Objective: To assess the frequency of patterns of mandibular condylar fractures at Nishtar Institute of Dentistry, Multan. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at outpatient & ward of the oral & maxillofacial surgery department of Nishter Institute of Dentistry, Multan from September 2018 to February 2019. Patients aged 20-50 years with clinical and radiological diagnosis of mandibular condylar fracture within last 7 days were consecutively enrolled. The pattern of mandibular condylar fracture along with cause of fracture, site of fracture, and degree of displacement of fracture were noted. Results: Out of 90 patients, mean age of the patients was 37.49 + 9.57 years. There were 70 (77.8%) males and 20 (22.2%) were females. The mean duration of fracture was 1.61 + 1.15 days. RTA was the cause among 45 (50%), fall in 17 (18.9%), FAI in 12 (13.3%), fight in 11 (12.2%) and sports in 5 (5.5%) patients. Intracapsular fractures of the condylar head were found in 11 (12.2%), condylar neck fracture in 22 (24.4%), and subcondylar fractures in 57 (63.3%) patients. Displaced fracture was noted in 73 (81.1%) of the patients. Of these 73 patients, ≤5 mm displacement was observed in 59 (80.8%) and >5 mm in 14 (19.2%) patients. Conclusion: Unilateral subcondylar fractures of less than 5mm displacement were the most frequently assessed patterns of mandibular condylar fractures with the predominant etiology of Road Traffic Accidents.