Posttraumatic Missile Injuries of the Orofacial Region

Abstract

Iraq became the world's battlefield for terrorist attack to the victims by different types of weapons of missile including explosive cars, explosive belt, fragments, rifle bullets, and handgun bullets. This situation in Iraq has been present for the last 3 years. As surgeons, we cannot influence the surge of this violence, but we are surely called upon to care for its victims. Missile injuries to the orofacial region have special features that provide the surgeon with multiple medical and surgical challenges when dealing with these injuries. This study include 140 patients who were treated in the maxillofacial unit, hospital of specialized surgery, in Medical City, Baghdad, during a period of 2 years; we had 28 women and 112 men, with ages ranging from 9 to 60 years (mean, 34.5 years), suffering from posttraumatic orofacial deformities. Deformities of the face as a complication of missile injuries were classified as bone loss, soft tissue loss, combined bone and soft tissue loss, and others (sinus tracts and poor scars); 62 patients (44%) had bone loss, 45 (32%) had soft tissue loss, 9 (6.4%) had combined bone and soft tissue loss, and 22 (15.7%) had other deformities.