Operative management of equine-related maxillofacial trauma presenting to a Melbourne level-one trauma centre over a six-year period.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the pattern of equine-related maxillofacial trauma that required operative treatment in patients who presented to a level-one trauma centre in Melbourne between 2011 and 2016. A total of 28 patients (16 female and 12 male, median (range) age 31 (16-76) years) were identified from a database of all operatively managed maxillofacial trauma cases, and data were collected on demographics, mechanisms and patterns of injury, and management. The most common mechanism was kicking (n=16), which was also the most likely to result in multiple injuries. Half the patients sustained an injury to the midface only, with naso-orbitoethmoidal (NOE) and orbital fractures being the most common fractures. Of the total fractures (those that did and did not require an operation), 44/54 were managed with internal fixation. Exactly half the patients were treated as inpatients and half as outpatients, and despite a longer total duration of hospital stay for inpatients, the postoperative period was the same in both. Many horse-related maxillofacial injuries were sustained by young women, and the midface was most commonly affected. More injuries overall were sustained while unmounted (particularly by kicks) than by falls.