The Elastic Internal Traction (EIT): an effective method to reduce the displaced facial fractures

Open reduction and rigid fixation are commonly used to treat displaced fractures of the facial skeleton. Manual reduction can be performed by means of forceps or transosseus wires to close the bone fragments. In order to reduce facial fractures, we used a technique, called Elastic Internal Traction...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of oral and maxillofacial surgery 2004-10, Vol.33 (7), p.709-712
Main Authors: Taglialatela Scafati, C., Facciuto, E., Aliberti, F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Bone Screws
Dentistry
Fracture Fixation, Internal - instrumentation
Fractures, Open - surgery
Humans
Jaw Fixation Techniques - instrumentation
mandibular fractures
Mandibular Fractures - surgery
maxillofacial trauma
Medical sciences
Orbital Fractures - surgery
osteosynthesis
Otorhinolaryngology. Stomatology
Rubber
Traction - instrumentation
Zygomatic Fractures - surgery
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Summary:Open reduction and rigid fixation are commonly used to treat displaced fractures of the facial skeleton. Manual reduction can be performed by means of forceps or transosseus wires to close the bone fragments. In order to reduce facial fractures, we used a technique, called Elastic Internal Traction (EIT), based on the elastic action of rubber bands stretched between screws placed on both sides of the fracture line. We have used EIT in 104 patients suffering from mandibular fractures, and 40 cases of patients with orbito-maxillary complex fractures out of the 707 patients treated for trauma between July 2000 and August 2002 at our hospital. In our opinion, this technique provides an effective reduction and a stable primary fixation of the bone before the final fixation. It also has the advantage that the surgical field is clear of the assistant’s hands and surgical instruments that are usually used to lock the reduction. The resulting operative time is shortened, and the plating of the bone is simplified.
ISSN:0901-5027
1399-0020
DOI:10.1016/j.ijom.2004.02.008