Miniplate fixation for repair of mandibular and maxillary fractures in 15 dogs and 3 cats.

Maxillofacial miniplates and screws were used for skeletal fixation in 15 dogs and 3 cats that sustained a variety of mandibular and maxillary fractures. These implants were used as neutralization or buttress fixation in 11 caudal (junction of the ramus with the mandibular body) and 2 rostral mandibular fractures, 4 maxillary fractures, and 2 zygomatic arch fractures. All but one of the fractures healed with appropriate occlusion and excellent function. In one case of a rostral mandibular fracture, soft tissue dehiscence occurred accompanied by a loss of the fixation and subsequent distraction of the bone fragments; reasonable function was obtained by performing a rostral mandibulectomy. Plate contouring and application of the miniplates along the appropriate biomechanical lines of stress was easily performed and permitted the biomechanical principles of tension band fixation to be applied in most cases. Miniplate fixation, either used alone or in combination with other fracture fixation techniques, achieved sufficiently rigid skeletal fixation to provide uncomplicated healing and good to excellent functional and cosmetic results in 14 dogs and 3 cats.