Assessment of hardware removal rate in maxillofacial surgery

Background: Infected hardware is populated with bacterial colonies. The present study was conducted to determine hardware removal rate in maxillofacial surgery. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 580 patients of both genders treated by open reduction and internal fixation. Type of bone in which hardware was used and reason for hardware removal was assessed. Results: Out of 580 patients, males were 320 and females were 260. Hardware removal rate was in 11 out of 132 cases of maxilla, 24 out of 218 cases of mandible, 16 out of 125 cases of zygomatic, 10 out of 75 cases of nasal bone and 2 out of 30 cases of orbit. The difference was significant (P common cause of removal of hardware was infection in 20 cases, wound in 12, malunion in 11, pain and resorption in 6 each, non union in 5 and refracture in 2 cases. The difference was significant (P Table III shows that out of 410 titanium implants, 42 had failure and out of 170 stainless steel implants, 21 showed failures. Conclusion: Authors found that most common cause of removal of hardware was infection, wound, malunion, pain, resorption, non union and refracture. Keywords: Pain, Resorption, Non union.