BIODEGRADABLE VERSUS TITANIUM OSTEOSYNTHESIS FOR MANDIBULAR FRACTURES IN ADULTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS

Objectives: Biodegradable fixation is used to avoid a second operation for hardware removal. A 2026 systematic review supporting the Japanese trauma guidelines synthesised the randomised evidence in adults with mandibular fractures up to August 2024, finding two trials and 109 patients. This review updates and extends it: it adds a randomised trial published after that search closed, a comparative trial in a journal outside MEDLINE, the non-randomised comparative evidence, and operating time. Materials and Methods: Systematic review with random-effects meta-analysis, reported per PRISMA 2020. PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science and LILACS were searched to 15 September 2026 for randomised and comparative studies in adults. Scopus was searched but its screening is incomplete and no Scopus-only record contributes; Embase is not licensed by our institution and CENTRAL was not searched. Risk ratios were pooled on the log scale; publications from one cohort were linked; outcomes were analysed at their stated denominator.