AIM: To biomechanically analyze two fixation techniques in polyurethane hemi-mandibular body fractures, using a universal testing machine. METHODS: The study employed 10 polyurethane hemi-mandible replicas, which simulated simple fractures of the mandibular body, divided into two groups: one group comprised 5 hemi-mandibles with two 2.0 mm system plates in the tension and compression zones, while the other group contained 5 hemi-mandibles with an Erich bar and a 2.0 mm system plate in the tension and neutral zones, respectively. Data were analyzed statistically by the Student's t-test (α=0.05) RESULTS: The test results indicated that the fixation using 2.0 mm system plates offered significantly more resistance to the loads and presented significantly larger displacement compared to the fixation using just one 2.0 mm system plate and the Erich bar. CONCLUSIONS: It may be concluded that the use of two plates in the 2.0 mm system had greater mechanical strength than a single 2.0 mm plate combined with an Erich bar. Clinically, it is known that both techniques can provide good results, but patients receiving the combination of Erich bar and one plate are required to be more cooperative during the postoperative period, especially with respect to the prescribed diet in order to avoid failures in this system.

The use of rapid prototyping technology in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery has been increasing in the last decade, allowing the management of biomodels from medical image processing as computed tomography in order to obtain a three dimensional model with the same geometric characteristics as the virtual one. The aim of this study is to present the use of biomodels for treatment of maxillofacial trauma sequelae with evaluation of clinical records in a period that varies from January 2000 to December 2010. For diagnosis and surgical planning of maxillofacial sequelae in this period, some 15 prototypes were used, allowing us to determine the treatment planning with more accuracy and to save operating room time.

El uso de tecnología de prototipado rápido en Cirugía Oral y Maxilofacial se ha incrementado en la última década, lo que permite la gestión de los biomodelos de procesamiento de imágenes médicas, como tomografía computarizada para obtener un modelo tridimensional con las mismas características geométricas del virtual. El objetivo de este estudio es presentar el uso de biomodelos para el tratamiento de las secuelas de un traumatismo maxilofacial con la evaluación de las historias clínicas en un período que varía entre enero de 2000 a diciembre de 2010. Para el diagnóstico y la planificación de la cirugía maxilofacial de las secuelas en este período, 15 prototipos fueron utilizados, lo que permite determinar la planificación del tratamiento con más precisión y para ahorrar tiempo de quirófano.