Maxillofacial Fractures Caused by Falls

Ikumi Imajo, Tomohiro Yamada, Kotaro Ishii, Tomohiko Akahoshi, Kenta Momii, Ken-ichi Kamizono, Tomoki Sumida and Yoshihide Mori

Department of Surgery, Division of Maxillofacial Diagnostic and Surgical Sciences, Kyushu University, Japan
Department of Surgery, Emergency and Critical Care Center, Kyushu University Hospital, Japan

^*Correspondance to: Tomohiro Yamada 

 PDF  Full Text DOI: 10.25107/2474-1647.2346

Abstract

Background: Fall-related injuries are sometimes caused by high-energy trauma and show complex clinical conditions that are occasionally difficult to treat. The objective of this study was to clarify the roles of oral and maxillofacial surgeons in fall-related injuries.
Methods: The medical records of patients who were admitted to the Emergency Room of Kyushu University Hospital due to falls from January 2011 to December 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. We evaluated the distribution of age, gender, fall height, mortality, cause of injury, fracture site, duration from injury to treatment, and treatment of maxillofacial fractures.
Results: There were 124 patients (84 males (67.7%) and 40 females (32.3%)) who were admitted to our hospital (average age 36.8 years). The average fall height was 10.1 m, and the mortality was 37.9%. The causes of trauma were unintentional fall in 58 patients (46.8%) and jumping in 66 patients (53.2%). Maxillofacial fractures were found in 37 cases (29.8%). Maxillofacial fractures were more common in the jumping group than in the unintentional fall group. The cases with maxillofacial fractures had more fractures of the pelvis and cranial bone, especially the frontal bone, and fewer fractures of the spine and ribs. For the treatment of maxillofacial fractures, conservative treatment (11 cases) was preferred over open surgery (5 cases). The treatment of 21 patients was not indicated because of an impossibility of survival.
Conclusion: For the treatment of maxillofacial fractures caused by falls, cooperation with specialists from other fields is important to determine the indication and priority of treatment.

Keywords

Maxillofacial fracture; High energy; Suicide

Cite the article

Imajo I, Yamada T, Ishii K, Akahoshi T, Momii K, Kamizono K, et al. Maxillofacial Fractures Caused by Falls. Clin Surg. 2019; 4: 2346.