A-50-year-old male patient presented with complaint of tenderness on the left malar area after traffic accident. Our first impression on him was zygomatic fracture, we did radiologic work-up and physical examination on him. But, on the computed tomography scan, there was no fracture or discontinuity on his facial bone. The computed tomography scan was revealed a 4-cm long foreign body in left maxillary sinus with a large amount of fluid collection. After thorough history taking from him, we reveal the patient had a history of trauma 30 years back on the left zygomatic area with a chopstick. The foreign body was removed via transoral approach with the endoscopic assist. There was no complication after operation.
Accidents, Traffic ; Facial Bones ; Foreign Bodies ; Humans ; Male ; Maxilla ; Maxillary Fractures ; Maxillary Sinus ; Physical Examination ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Zygomatic Fractures

BACKGROUND: The open reduction of craniofacial bone fractures requires internal fixation using metal plates and screws, which have been considered the gold standard. However, metal implants pose a risk of palpation, protrusion, and foreign body reaction, and they may require an additional operation for removal. Recently, good results have been reported for absorbable implants which complement the disadvantages of metal implants. This study presents the results of using absorbable mesh, plates, and screws with cyanoacrylate for more accurate and firmer fixation of comminuted fractures of the maxilla. METHODS: In total, 235 patients underwent operations for comminuted fractures of the maxilla. From January 2012 to December 2014, absorbable mesh and screws were used in 114 patients, while from January 2015 to December 2017, absorbable mesh, plates, and screws with cyanoacrylate were used in 121 patients. Open reduction of the bone fragments was performed, after which absorbable implants were accurately molded and fixed by screws. RESULTS: All patients underwent postoperative computed tomography scans, which showed highly accurate reduction and firm fixation in the patients who underwent procedures using absorbable implants, screws, and cyanoacrylate. There were no postoperative complications or cases of abnormal facial contour. CONCLUSION: When absorbable implants and screws are used for maxillary fractures, no additional surgery to remove the metal plate is required. In addition, the use of cyanoacrylate enables accurate and firm fixation of the tiny bone fragments that cannot be fixed with screws.
Absorbable Implants ; Complement System Proteins ; Cyanoacrylates ; Foreign-Body Reaction ; Fractures, Bone ; Fractures, Comminuted ; Fungi ; Humans ; Maxilla ; Maxillary Fractures ; Palpation ; Postoperative Complications

The purpose of this study is to discuss several approaches to addressing naso-orbito-ethmoidal (NOE) fracture. Orbital fracture, especially infraorbital fracture, can be treated through the transconjunctival approach easily. However, in more severe cases, for example, fracture extending to the medial orbital wall or zygomatico-frontal suture line, only transconjunctival incision is insufficient to secure good surgical field. And, it also has risk of tearing the conjunctiva, which could injure the lacrimal duct. Also, in most complex types of facial fracture such as NOE fracture or panfacial fracture, destruction of the structure often occurs, for example, trap-door deformity; a fracture of orbital floor where the inferiorly displaced blowout facture recoils to its original position, or vertical folding deformity; fractured fragments are displaced under the other fragments, causing multiple-packed layers of bone.
Congenital Abnormalities ; Conjunctiva ; Fractures, Multiple ; Lacrimal Apparatus ; Maxillary Fractures ; Orbit ; Orbital Fractures ; Sutures ; Tears

Intraorbital infection shows a low incidence, but it might cause blindness or even death. This case is unusual in that its origin from a craniofacial bone fracture prior to infection of the maxillary sinus. A 33-year-old female patient was referred for right cheek swelling. When she visited the emergency room, we removed right cheek hematoma and bacterial examination was done. In the past, she had craniofacial bone surgical history due to a traffic accident 6 years ago. Next day, the swelling had remained with proptosis and pus was recognized in the conjunctiva. We planned an emergency operation and removed the pus which was already spread inside the orbit. And the evaluation for sinusitis was consulted to the otorhinolaryngology department simultaneously. There were Prevotella oralis and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis bacterial infection in the intraorbital and sinus respectively. Afterwards, the vigorous dressing was done for over a month with intravenous antibiotics. Though the intraorbital infection was resolved, blindness and extraocular movement limitation were inevitable. In conclusion, close follow up of the maxillary sinus in facial bone fracture patients is important and aggressive treatment is needed when an infection is diagnosed.
Accidents, Traffic ; Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacterial Infections ; Bandages ; Blindness ; Cheek ; Conjunctiva ; Emergencies ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Exophthalmos ; Eye Infections ; Facial Bones ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Fractures, Bone ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Incidence ; Maxillary Sinus ; Methicillin Resistance ; Orbit ; Otolaryngology ; Prevotella ; Sinusitis ; Staphylococcus epidermidis ; Suppuration

PURPOSE: Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) is common but accurate diagnosis and its clinical consequences have been a problem. Maxillofacial trauma does have an association with TBI. Neuron-specific enolase (NSE) has been developed to evaluate neuronal damage. The objective of this study was to investigate the accuracy of NSE serum levels to detect mild brain injury of patients with sustained maxillofacial fractures during motor vehicle accidents. METHODS: Blood samples were drawn from 40 healthy people (control group) and 48 trauma patients who had sustained isolated maxillofacial fractures and mild brain injury in motor vehicle accidents. Brain injuries were graded by Glasgow Coma Scale. In the trauma group, correlations between the NSE serum value and different facial fracture sites were also assessed. RESULTS: The NSE serum level (mean ± SD, ng/ml) in the 48 patients with maxillofacial fractures and mild TBI was 13.12 ± 9.68, significantly higher than that measured in the healthy control group (7.72 ± 1.82, p < 0.001). The mean NSE serum level (ng/ml) in the lower part of the facial skeleton (15.44 with SD 15.34) was higher than that in the upper facial part (12.42 with SD 7.68); and the mean NSE level (ng/ml) in the middle-and lower part (11.97 with SD 5.63) was higher than in the middle part (7.88 with SD 2.64). CONCLUSION An increase in NSE serum levels can be observed in patients sustained maxillofacial fractures and mild brain injury.
Accidents, Traffic ; Adult ; Aged ; Biomarkers ; blood ; Brain Injuries, Traumatic ; diagnosis ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Maxillary Fractures ; Maxillofacial Injuries ; Mesencephalon ; injuries ; Middle Aged ; Motorcycles ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase ; blood ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: Some parts of a maxillary fracture—for example, the medial and posterior walls—may remain unreduced because they are unapproachable or hard to deal with. This study aimed to investigate the self-healing process of unreduced maxillary membranous parts of fractures through a longitudinal computed tomography (CT) analysis of cases of unilateral facial bone injuries involving the maxillary sinus walls.METHODS: Thirty-two patients who had undergone unilateral facial bone reduction surgery involving the maxillary sinus walls without reduction of the medial and posterior walls were analyzed in this retrospective chart review. Preoperative, immediate postoperative, and 3-month postoperative CT scans were analyzed. The maxillary sinus volume was calculated and improvements in bone continuity and alignment were evaluated.RESULTS: The volume of the traumatized maxillary sinuses increased after surgery, and expanded significantly by 3 months postoperatively (p< 0.05). The significant preoperative volume difference between the normal and traumatized sides (p= 0.024) resolved after surgery (p> 0.05), and this resolution was maintained at 3 months postoperatively (p > 0.05). The unreduced parts of the maxillary bone showed improved alignment and continuity (in 75.0% and 90.6% of cases, respectively), and improvements in bone alignment and bone continuity were found to be correlated using the Pearson chi-square test (p= 0.002).CONCLUSION: Maxillary wall remodeling through self-healing occurred concomitantly with an increase in sinus volume and simultaneous improvements in bone alignment and continuity. Midfacial surgeons should be aware of the natural course of unreduced fractured medial and posterior maxillary walls in complex maxillary fractures.
Facial Bones ; Fracture Healing ; Fractures, Bone ; Humans ; Maxilla ; Maxillary Fractures ; Maxillary Sinus ; Periosteum ; Retrospective Studies ; Surgeons ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

PURPOSE: Various complications occur when a maxillofacial fracture is malunionized or improperly resolved. Malocclusion is the most common complication, followed by facial deformity, temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD), and neurological symptoms. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the dental treatment of postoperative complications after maxillofacial fracture. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, nine patients with a postoperative complication after maxillofacial fracture who had been performed the initial operation from other units and were referred to the authors’ department had been included. Of the nine patients, six had mandibular fractures, one had maxillary fractures, one had maxillary and mandibular complex fractures, and one had multiple facial fractures. All the patients had tooth fractures, dislocations, displacements, and alveolar bone fractures at the time of trauma, but complications occurred because none of the patients underwent preoperative and postoperative dental treatment. Malocclusion and TMD are the most common complications, followed by dental problems (pulp necrosis, tooth extrusion, osteomyelitis, etc.) due to improper treatment of teeth and alveolar bone injuries. The patients were referred to the department of dentistry to undergo treatment for the complications. One of the nine patients underwent orthognathic surgery for a severe open bite. Another patient underwent bone reconstruction using an iliac bone graft and vestibuloplasty with extensive bone loss. The other patients, who complained of moderate occlusal abnormalities and TMDs such as mouth-opening limitation, underwent occlusal treatment by prosthodontic repair and temporomandibular joint treatment instead of surgery. RESULTS: One patient who underwent orthognathic surgery had complete loss of open bite and TMD after surgery. One patient who underwent reconstruction using an iliac bone graft had a good healing process. Other patients were treated with splint, injection, and physical therapy for mouth-opening limitation and temporomandibular joint pain. After treatment, the TMDs were resolved, but the remaining occlusal abnormalities were resolved with prosthetic restoration. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the severity of malocclusion and TMJ symptom and the feasibillity of reoperation, nonsurgical methods such as orthodontic and prosthodontic treatments and splint therapy can be used to manage the dental and TMD complication after the trauma surgery. However, reoperation needs to be strongly considered for severe malocclusion and TMD problem. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s40902-018-0167-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Congenital Abnormalities ; Dentistry ; Dislocations ; Fractures, Bone ; Humans ; Malocclusion ; Mandibular Fractures ; Maxillary Fractures ; Necrosis ; Open Bite ; Orthodontic Extrusion ; Orthognathic Surgery ; Osteomyelitis ; Postoperative Complications ; Reoperation ; Retrospective Studies ; Splints ; Temporomandibular Joint ; Temporomandibular Joint Disorders ; Tooth ; Tooth Fractures ; Transplants ; Vestibuloplasty

Among the classification of maxillary fracture, the Le Fort classification is the best-known categorization. Le Fort (1901) completed experiments that determined the maxilla areas of structural weakness which he designated as the “lines of weakness”. According to these results, there are three basic fracture line patterns (transverse, pyramidal and craniofacial disjunction). A transverse fracture is a Le Fort I fracture that is above the level of the apices of the maxillary teeth section, including the entire alveolar process of the maxilla, vault of the palate and inferior ends of the pterygoid processes in a single block from the upper craniofacial skeleton. Le Fort fractures result in both a cosmetic and a functional deficit if treated inappropriately. In this article, authors review the management of a Le Fort I fracture with a case-based discussion.
Alveolar Process ; Classification ; Maxilla ; Maxillary Fractures ; Palate ; Skeleton ; Tooth

Major maxillofacial bone injury itself can be life threatening from both cardiovascular point of view, as well as airway obstruction. Significant hemorrhage from facial fracture is an uncommon occurrence, and there is little in the literature to guide the management of these patients. We report a 73-year-old male driver who was transported to our hospital after a motor vehicle collision. The patient was hypotensive and tachycardic at presentation and required active fluid resuscitation and transfusion. The patient was intubated to protect the airway. All external attempts to control the bleeding, from packing to fracture reduction, were unsuccessful. Emergency angiogram revealed the bleeding to originate from terminal branches of the sphenopalatine artery, which were embolized. This was associated with cessation of bleeding and stabilization of vital signs. Despite the age and severity of injury, the patient recovered well and was discharged home at 3 months with full employment. In facial trauma patients with intractable bleeding, transcatheter arterial embolization should be considered early in the course of management to decrease mortality rate.
Aged ; Airway Obstruction ; Angiography ; Arteries ; Emergencies ; Employment ; Hemorrhage* ; Humans ; Male ; Maxillary Artery ; Maxillary Fractures ; Mortality ; Motor Vehicles ; Resuscitation ; Vital Signs

Absorbable plates are used widely for fixation of facial bone fractures. Compared to conventional titanium plating systems, absorbable plates have many favorable traits. They are not palpable after plate absorption, which obviates the need for plate removal. Absorbable plate-related infections are relatively uncommon at less than 5% of patients undergoing fixation of facial bone fractures. The plates are made from a mixture of poly-L-lactic acid and poly-DL-lactic acid or poly-DL-lactic acid and polyglycolic acid, and the ratio of these biodegradable polymers is used to control the longevity of the plates. Degradation rate of absorbable plate is closely related to the chance of infection. Low degradation is associated with increased accumulation of plate debris, which in turn can increase the chance of infection. Predisposing factors for absorbable plate-related infection include the presence of maxillary sinusitis, plate proximity to incision site, and use of tobacco and significant amount of alcohol. Using short screws in fixating maxillary fracture accompanied maxillary sinusitis will increase the rate of infection. Avoiding fixating plates near the incision site will also minimize infection. Close observation until complete absorption of the plate is crucial, especially those who are smokers or heavy alcoholics. The management of plate infection is varied depending on the clinical situation. Severe infections require plate removal. Wound culture and radiologic exam are essential in treatment planning.
Absorbable Implants ; Absorption ; Alcoholics ; Causality ; Facial Bones* ; Facial Injuries ; Humans ; Longevity ; Maxillary Fractures ; Maxillary Sinus ; Maxillary Sinusitis ; Polyglycolic Acid ; Polymers ; Titanium ; Tobacco ; Wounds and Injuries