What is the force required to treat trismus in patients undergoing oral cavity free flap reconstruction?

Background Trismus therapy is often delayed after jaw reconstruction to avoid hardware failure or non‐union. The aim of this study is to document the forces that have been applied to patients undergoing free flap reconstruction of the oral cavity in the 12 months following oral cavity reconstruction...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Head & neck 2024-12, Vol.46 (12), p.2935-2944
Main Authors: Charters, Emma, Loy, Jamie, Cheng, Kai, Dunn, Masako, Manzie, Timothy, Wan, Boyang, Tumuluri, Vinay, Clark, Jonathan R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
deglutation disorders
Jaw
Oral cavity
oral neoplasm
Quality of life
rehabilitation
trismus
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Summary:Background Trismus therapy is often delayed after jaw reconstruction to avoid hardware failure or non‐union. The aim of this study is to document the forces that have been applied to patients undergoing free flap reconstruction of the oral cavity in the 12 months following oral cavity reconstruction, and to analyze the associations between force and maximal interincisal opening (MIO) over time. Methods Participants with trismus after free flap reconstruction of the oral cavity completed a 10‐week jaw stretching program using Restorabite™. Primary outcome measures included the minimum and maximal force applied by a trismus device during rehabilitation, MIO, bone union, and health‐related quality of life outcomes up to 12 months postoperatively. Results A mean of 20.6 Newtons (N) was used during passive exercises and 38.9 N during active exercises was used during trismus therapy. The mean increase in MIO for the 45 participants after 10 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months of therapy was 8.4 mm (p 
ISSN:1043-3074
1097-0347
1097-0347
DOI:10.1002/hed.27850