Epidemiology of maxillofacial trauma in a university hospital of Kermanshah, Iran

Abstract

PurposeMaxillofacial surgery is a newly established department in the province of Kermanshah. The aim of this study was to present the pattern of facial injuries among the patients from December 2010 to February 2014. MethodsHospital records of 1727 patients were reviewed retrospectively. Data collected included patients’ name, sex, age, date of admission, etiology, type of facial injury, associated non-facial trauma and treatment modalities. Results1096 patients sustained only a soft-tissue injury. 631 patients had skeletal fractures. The significant majority of patients (78%) were male and the others were female (22%). The mean ages of males and females were roughly similar (28.7±12.5 for males versus 29.7±15.4 for females). Most patients were between 21 and 30 years old. Motor vehicle accident was the major cause of trauma (74.8%) followed by assault (13.2%) and fall (8.3%). Nasal fracture was the most frequent trauma (45.5%), followed by mandibular (29%) and zygomatic (24.9) fracture. Central nervous system was the commonest associated trauma. 72% of mandibular, 87% of maxillary and 84.8% of zygomatic fractures were reduced via open reduction and rigid internal fixation. ConclusionThe results of our study depicted that the epidemiology of maxillofacial trauma varies not only from country to country, but also within a country. Treatment protocol has changed during the past 15 years, and like many like other regions, conservative methods have been replaced by open reduction and rigid fixation. The results also showed that the attempts to reduce road traffic-related traumas have not been sufficient and require to be revised.