Maxillofacial injuries due to animal attacks: A case series

Abstract

AbstractAnimal attack injuries are frequently seen in trauma centres. Animal attacks have grown recently as a result of human expansion into the wild and reduced forest cover. As a result, wild animals and humans must occupy the same habitat, and there is an increase in wild animal–human interaction. Animal attack injuries to the face can result in functional, cosmetic and structural deficits. The head and neck are the third most commonly affected areas, followed by the upper and lower limbs. Because of the animal microflora, there is a greater risk of infections. The majority of maxillofacial fractures caused by animal attacks are crushed and may have numerous comminuted fractures, making fixing more difficult than with simple fractures. This current paper sheds some light on five such wild animal attacks that result in maxillofacial injuries as well as how to treat them.