Normal and Reconstructed Mandibular Condyle Mechanics

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

One approach to reconstructing a damaged mandibular condyle is to replace it with a rib graft. This procedure requires removal of the lateral pterygoid muscle. The rib graft has significantly different shape and mechanical properties than the original condyle. These three factors can be expected to alter mandible (jaw) mechanics. We used voxel-based finite element methods to analysis both normal and a simulated reconstructed mandible using data from the US NIH Visible Human Female. Results demonstrated significant differences between normal and reconstructed mandible mechanics. The reconstructed mandible displaced more than the normal mandible. Stresses in the rib graft were 3 to 4 times higher than in a normal mandibular condyle. Stresses in the rest of the mandible were also higher in the reconstructed case. Further analyses are required to determine how each of the alterations in the reconstructed mandible contributes to the difference in reconstructed mandible mechanics.