Reconstructing the Jaw: A New Way with Fibula Flap and TriLock

Losing part of your jaw due to cancer or another health issue. It's not just about losing bone; it's about how it affects your face, your eating, and your smile. A team of medical experts wanted to tackle this problem by creating a new way to rebuild the jaw using a unique bone flap and a special plate system. They zeroed in on the lower part of the jaw near the jawbone's hook (the mandibular ramus). Why is this area so important? Because it helps keep food from getting stuck in the cheeks and causing problems like infections or sores. Traditionally, doctors would use implants or dentures to fill this space, but those sometimes didn't fit perfectly.Enter the double-arm vascularized fibula flap. This is a piece of bone taken from the leg, along with its blood supply, to help rebuild the jaw. The challenge was stabilizing this new bone in the right place. Conventional plates couldn't always do the job well. That's where the TriLock Bridging Plate System comes in. This system has two arms on one end of the plate, which helps keep the new bone stable in the ideal spot. This new combination of bone flap and plate system is a game-changer, making it easier to securely place the fibula and reduce the risk of deformities.