Analysis of the blood supply to the post-fracture edentulous mandible: study by colour Doppler sonography.

PURPOSE: This study assessed the arterial blood supply to the mandible of edentulous patients treated for mandibular fractures using colour Doppler ultrasound.

METHODS: The blood supply of edentulous patients surgically treated for mandibular fractures (group A) and edentulous fracture-free individuals (group B) was assessed. Only the fractured sides were evaluated in the first group (N = 17), whereas each side was evaluated in the second group (N = 20). The arterial flow of six sites was assessed. The systolic-peak maximum velocity (SPV), final diastolic velocity (FDV), resistive index (RI), pulsatility index (PI), acceleration and flow direction of each artery were obtained. Additionally, the presence of local vascular obstructive factors was evaluated. The differences between groups were analysed using the Kruskal-Wallis test, which was complemented by the Mann-Whitney test, for correlations between the degree of alveolar atrophy and the study factors (p < 0.050).

RESULTS: There was a significant decrease in the flow of certain arteries, especially the submental (SPV, p = 0.007, PI, p = 0.022, and acceleration, p = 0.015), in the fracture group. The facial artery in both groups showed lower values related to local obstructive factors (SPV, p = 0.001, FDV, p = 0.040, and PI, p = 0.030). The submental artery flow was higher (SPV, p = 0.006, and FDV, p = 0.009) in non-atrophic individuals.

CONCLUSIONS: There was a decreased flow mainly in the submental artery, but there were no cases of major vascular injury in edentulous patients treated for mandibular fractures.