Etiological spectrum, injury characteristics and treatment outcome of facial fractures: a clinical study of 92 cases

Abstract

Background: Maxillofacial injuries pose a therapeutic challenges to trauma, maxillofacial and plastic surgeonspracticing in developing countries. This study was carried out to determine the etiology, injury characteristics andmanagement outcome of maxillofacial injuries at Maysan general hospital in Maysan, southern of Iraq fromNovember 2008 to April 2010.Patients and methods: The data collected included age, gender, etiology, anatomic site of the fracture andtreatment outcome. A total of 134 facial fractures were found in 92 patients,Results: most fractures occurred in adults with age ranging from 21 to 30 years. Men were more affected thanwomen, with a male-female ratio of 4.1:1. Road traffic accidents (RTAs) were the major cause of trauma, followed byinterpersonal violence and gunshots and missiles. When the relation between the gender and the etiology of facialfractures was analyzed, a significant relation was noted between these variables. There was also a relation betweenthe patients’ age and the site of the fractures. The mandible was found to be the most commonly fractured bone inthe facial skeleton, followed by the zygomatic complex. Surgical or non-surgical approach was chosen according tocharacters of each case. There were significant differences between the kind of treatment applied and the site ofthe fracture. Surgical site infection and malocclusion were the most prevalent complications.Conclusion: Road traffic accidents remain the major etiological factor of maxillofacial injuries in our setting. Measureson prevention of road traffic accidents should be strongly emphasized in order to reduce the occurrence of theseinjuries