Facial Trauma: A Retrospective Study of 1262 Patients

INTRODUCTION: Traumatic injuries are the leading cause of death among <40 year olds, a good part of the working age population. Traumatic injuries are also the leading cause of lost productivity, causing more lost working days than cancer or vascular cardiomyopathy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively and statistically analyzed the characteristics of facial fractures treated between June 2010 and December 2016 at the Maxillofacial Adult Surgery Unit, Spedali Civili Brescia, Italy. DISCUSSION: Facial fractures are common in polytrauma patients, due to exposure of the cephalic end. The incidence of concomitant facial injuries with major trauma is 15%–24% in England (between Liverpool and London) and up to 34% in Washington, based on a large database of 87,174 patients. High-energy trauma frequently involving multiple traumatic injuries often leads to complex facial fractures, affecting different portions of the splanchnocranium. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of facial fractures often focuses on functional or esthetic outcomes, and the outcomes are often substantially worse than those of other trauma treatments. Given the esthetic value of the face, facial trauma often leads to heightened emotional distress.