Analysis of facial bone fractures: An 11-year study of 2,094 patients

TLDR

A retrospective review of 2,094 facial bone fracture patients treated at Inha University Hospital from 1996 to 2007 was conducted to analyze clinical characteristics and treatment, noting that the most common age group was the third decade of life. The study found a male‑to‑female ratio of 3.98:1, with violent assault or nonviolent injury accounting for 49.4% of cases; the most frequent isolated fracture was the nasal bone (37.7%) followed by the mandible (30%), complex fractures mainly involved the inferior orbital floor and zygomaticomaxilla (14%), closed reduction was performed in 46.3% and open reduction in 39.7% (intraoral approach 32.3%), and the overall complication rate was 6.4% with hypoesthesia (68.4%) and diplopia (25.6%) most common, underscoring the value of long‑term epidemiological data for prevention and treatment development.

Abstract

The medical records of these patients were reviewed and analysed to determine the clinical characteristics and treatment of facial bone fractures.This is a retrospective study of 2,094 patients with facial bone fractures from various accidents that were treated at the Inha University Hospital from 1996 to 2007.The most common age group was the third decade of life (29%). Males were more common than females (3.98:1). The most common aetiology was violent assault or nonviolent traumatic injury (49.4%). The most common isolated fracture site was the nasal bone (37.7%), followed by the mandible (30%), orbital bones (7.6%), zygoma (5.7%), maxilla (1.3%) and the frontal bone (0.3%). The largest group with complex fractures included the inferior region of the orbital floor and zygomaticomaxilla (14%). Closed reduction was performed in 46.3% of the cases while 39.7% of the cases required open reduction. For open reductions, the most commonly used soft-tissue approach was the intraoral approach (32.3%). The complication rate was 6.4% and the most common complication was hypoesthesia (68.4%) followed by diplopia (25.6%).Long-term collection of epidemiological data regarding facial fractures and concomitant injuries is important for the evaluation of existing preventive measures and useful in the development of new methods of injury prevention and treatment.