Postoperative radiographs after open reduction and internal fixation of the mandible: are they useful?

Mandibular fractures are common in oral and maxillofacial departments in the UK. The aim of this study was to find out the national practice in preoperative and postoperative radiographic investigations for fractured mandibles and to audit their diagnostic capacity, including specificity and sensitivity to short-term complications. The audit took place over a 4-month period and involved 100 patients across the Northern region. Ninety percent of patients were reviewed up to discharge and five of these patients developed a short-term postoperative complication. The postoperative radiograph was diagnostic in only one of the five cases. Overall, postoperative radiographs had a sensitivity of 20% and a specificity of 5% in their ability to predict short-term postoperative complications.