OBJECTIVE: To describe the incidence, pattern, and severity of maxillofacial trauma among patients who sustained gunshot and blast injuries of the maxillofacial region in a tertiary military hospital.

METHODS:

            Design:            Retrospective Case Series

            Setting:            Tertiary Military General Hospital

            Participants:  All patients admitted under the otorhinolaryngology service with

                                    gunshot and blast injuries to the face

RESULTS: A total of 108 patients were admitted due to gunshot and blast injuries to the face from January 2010 to December 2015. Most sustained gunshot injuries (73, 67.6%) compared to blast injuries (35, 32.4%). Of 108 patients, 71 had maxillofacial fractures (65.7%) while the remaining 37 only had soft tissue injuries (34.3%). Majority of those with maxillofacial fractures had single bone involvement (52, 72.2%); the rest had two or more bones affected (19, 27.8%) The most common bone injured was the mandible (77.5%), followed by the maxilla (35.2%), zygoma (12.7%), and others (frontal, nasal, and temporal bones) at 5.6%.

CONCLUSION:       Gunshot injuries had a higher incidence than blast injuries among military personnel with projectile injuries to the face seen during the study period. There were more fractures and combinations of fractured bones affected in gunshot injuries, although the breakdown of soft tissue injuries was similar among those with gunshot and blast injuries. However, the relation of injury patterns and severity to gunshot or blast etiology, or to other factors such as protective gear, cannot be established in this present study.

KEYWORDS: gunshot injuries; blast injuries; maxillofacial; projectile