Background: Mandible angle fractures can result in significant, long-term morbidity in children. However, management of this particular mandibular fracture type is not well-characterized in the pediatric population. This study investigated isolated mandibular angle fractures in the pediatric patients. Methods: This was a 30-year retrospective, longitudinal cohort study of pediatric patients presenting to a single institution with mandibular angle fractures. Patient data were abstracted from electronic medical records. Subgroup analyses were completed by dentition stage. Results: Seventeen patients met inclusion criteria, of whom 6 (35.3%) had deciduous, 4 (23.5%) had mixed, and 7 (41.2%) had permanent dentition. Deciduous/mixed dentition patients with mobile, displaced fractures underwent ORIF, whereas those with nondisplaced fractures underwent treatment with soft diet. Among permanent dentition patients, most patients (71.4%) underwent ORIF regardless of fracture severity. The post-ORIF complication rate was 55.6%; no complications were reported after soft diet or closed treatment (Fischer exact: P  = 0.05). The most common post-ORIF complication was alveolar nerve paresthesia (17.6%) and post-ORIF complication rates did not vary by age (deciduous: 16.7%, mixed: 25.0%, permanent: 42.9%, Fischer exact: P  = 0.80). ORIF patients who received a single upper border miniplate had a lower complication rate (42.9%) than other plating methods (upper and lower miniplates—100%). Fracture severity was predictive of post-ORIF complications (odds ratio: 2.23, 95% confidence interval: 2.22–2.24, P < 0.0001). Conclusions: Isolated mandible angle fractures were relatively rare in children, and treatment requirements varied by injury severity and dentition stage. Although isolated angle fractures had substantial associated morbidity, this fracture pattern did not result in notable growth limitations/deformity.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate surgical outcomes with the use of resorbable plating systems for the repair of craniomaxillofacial trauma in the pediatric population. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was performed. A descriptive analysis, operative technical data, outcomes, and postoperative complications with the use of absorbable plating systems for craniomaxillofacial trauma were included. Results: The systematic literature review identified 1264 abstracts, of which only 19 met inclusion criteria. From these 19 studies, 312 clinical cases with 443 facial fractures that were treated with absorbable fixation systems were extracted for analysis. The review identified only level III/IV (n = 17) and level V (n = 2) studies. Minor and major complications were rare, occurring in 5.45 percent (n = 17) and 3.21 percent (n = 10) of cases, respectively. The most common complications were surgical-site infections (n = 4) and plate extrusion (n = 4). Conclusions: This report is, to the authors’ knowledge, one of the first comprehensive reports on the use of absorbable plating systems for pediatric craniomaxillofacial trauma. Their analysis suggests that the use of absorbable fixation devices for pediatric craniomaxillofacial trauma is relatively safe, with a low-risk profile. Outcome studies with longer follow-up periods specifically investigating facial growth, reoperation rates, standardized surgical outcome metrics, and cost are necessary to effectively compare these fixation devices to titanium alternatives for craniomaxillofacial trauma.