Do jaw plates need to be removed if puss is coming out?

If your husband has hardware and pus is draining from that area of the hardware is visible it needs to be removed. Pain is not a reliable sign of infection in these instances. Seek a consultation with a specialist in facial reconstruction. Depending upon the location and size of the hardware it might be possible to remove it in the office under local anesthesia. I hope this information is helpful for you.Stephen Weber MD, FACSDenver Facial Plastic Surgeon

Thank you for the question.  Anytime there is drainage from a surgical site (including "puss"), it should be evaluated for an infection.  The presence of hardware in that area and the location of the dental roots makes the likelihood of there being an infection even higher.  I would have a plastic surgeon or an oral-maxilofacial surgeon take a look.  Hopefully the fracture has healed and all there is to do at this time is to remove the plate and receive IV antibiotics.All the best,Dr. Remus Repta

Thank you for your question. If there is pus coming out around the plate, the plate needs to be removed. Pus is a sign of infection. The bone should have healed by now - but an xray or CT would be useful to confirm that prior to plate removal.The plate acts as a foreign body to which bugs attach themselves. It is generally not possible to clear the infection without removing the offending plate. Please make an appointment to go back to the doctor who suggested removing the plate - I think they were right!I hope this helps.

Thanks for your question. Yes, the plates need to be removed. The underlying bone is certainly healed by now, so it's safe to remove the plates. Most people keep plates in for the rest of their lives and do fine, but sometimes, particularly with mandible fractures, the plates become infected and this happens. Typically they respond initially to antibiotics, but then the drainage returns as soon as the antibiotics are stopped. The bacteria live on the plate kind of like coral living in a reef- they secrete a material to protect themselves. The antibiotics can't penetrate the film so the only way to remove the bacteria is to remove the plate. This is a fairly straight forward operation. Nothing like what he went through initially. Good luck.

infection of jaw plates and screws are serious.You need to see a specialist and make a decision if and before the bone gets infected, Then it is more than just taking out the plates and screws.Plus puss coming out of the mouth is not the healthiest for him or the relationship