Classifying and standardizing panfacial trauma according to anatomic categories and Facial Injury Severity Scale: a 10-year retrospective study

Point-of-Care Virtual Planning and 3D Printing in Facial Trauma: A 10-Year Experience at a Single Institution

Background: Despite increased adoption of virtual surgical planning (VSP) in various craniofacial indications, the incorporation of VSP/3DP into facial trauma care remains limited. Therefore, Expedited Preoperative Point of Care for Fracture Reduction to Normalized Anatomy and 3DP to Improve Surgical Outcomes (EPPOCRATIS) was introduced in 2021. This study evaluates our experience with EPPORATIS in craniomaxillofacial trauma over 10 years. Methods: A retrospective review of patients who underwent facial trauma repair between September 2014 and September 2024 was conducted. For each VSP/3DP case, a patient with similar facial trauma patterns, who was treated without VSP, was selected. Evaluation metrics included operative time, blood loss, length of stay, complication rates, and fracture reduction accuracy through 3D heatmap analyses. Operative metrics were normalized by implant (i.e., fracture plates and screws) count to account for fracture complexity. A value of p < 0.05 was deemed statistically significant. Results: The VSP group presented with more complex injuries and higher involvement of various surgical specialties (p < 0.5) and demonstrated longer operative times (p < 0.03). Although the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.4), when adjusted for implant count, the VSP group had shorter operative times (median: 15.4 vs. 19.3 min/implant) and reduced blood loss compared to non-VSP cases (median: 3.4 mL/implant vs. 4.2 mL/implant). Complications, revision rates, and length of stay showed no significant differences. Conclusions: The use of VSP/3DP (EPPOCRATIS) in craniomaxillofacial trauma reconstruction demonstrated operative efficiency and accurate fracture reduction in complex cases. Further studies are needed to examine the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of point-of-care VSP/3DP in trauma centers.

The US-Mexico Border Wall Height Extension Is Associated With Increased Incidence and Severity of Facial Trauma

Objective

The recent United States (US)-Mexico border wall height extension has been associated with greater migrant neurological and musculoskeletal morbidity after falls. However, the impact on facial trauma has yet to be characterized.

Methods

In this retrospective cohort study, patients presenting to the UC San Diego Health Trauma Center for border wall fall-related injuries between 2016 and 2021 were included. Patients were compared based on the presence of facial fractures and whether their injuries were before the height extension (2016-2018) or after (2020-2021). Demographics, clinical characteristics, concurrent injuries, and hospital charges were compared. Due to low counts of facial fractures, temporal groups were compared with Zero-Inflated Poisson (ZIP) regressions.

Results

A total of 383 patients met inclusion criteria, with 9 patients (78% male) sustaining facial fractures and 374 patients (76% male) who did not. Patients with facial fractures were younger (26 [IQR 22-27] vs. 30 years [IQR 24-39], p = 0.047), had a greater concurrence of traumatic brain injuries (22% vs. 3.2%, p = 0.039), and longer ICU length of stay (5 [IQR 2-4] vs. 3 days [IQR 4-14], p = 0.034). The post-height extension cohort had an increased rate of facial fractures (0.34 vs. 0.03 per month), multi-facial-unit fractures (50% vs. 0%), and facial injuries requiring operative intervention (38% vs. 0%).

Conclusions

Facial fractures present with greater morbidity, and the recent border wall height extension is associated with an increased risk for facial trauma. In addition to the physical trauma, facial trauma is known to harbor enduring psychological repercussions. Altogether, these injury and resource burdens pose multifaceted concerns regarding international border infrastructure.

Level of Evidence

3.

Exploring the correlation of epidemiological and clinical factors with facial injury severity scores in maxillofacial trauma: a comprehensive analysis

Introduction

The Facial Injury Severity Scale (FISS) provides a numerical value based on individual fractures that can be a valuable tool for management of maxillofacial trauma patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of epidemiological and clinical factors with facial fracture patterns and their correlations with FISS.

Methods

A retrospective study was conducted based on 511 medical records from a 4-year period of patients with facial trauma who underwent open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) under general anesthesia. Fracture patterns were categorized into 3 anatomic subunits: upper, middle and lower face. Single-unit and panfacial fractures groups were analyzed separately. Data regarding demographics, hospitalization, etiology of injury, fracture site and complications were collected. The overall risk of fracture within the viscerocranium requiring an ORIF was presented in graphical form.

Results

Single-unit fractures were more typical in younger patients. There was a significant association between FISS score and traumatic etiology, hospitalization time, length of surgery in each group (p < 0.001). For panfacial fractures, FISS >6 indicated prolonged surgery (>2 h) and hospitalization (>1 week).

Discussion

Despite the questionable clinical utility of FISS, classifying maxillofacial trauma can facilitate comprehensive treatment planning and multidisciplinary collaboration, particularly in complex cases such as panfacial fractures.

Do Bicycle Helmets Protect Against Facial Fractures? An Observational Study From a Level 1 Trauma Centre

This study investigates the impact of helmet use on the incidence of facial fractures in bicycle accidents. Analyzing data from hospitalized bicyclists between 2005 and 2016, the research focused on the correlation between helmet usage and various facial fractures. The study included 1256 bicyclists with known helmet use, among whom 277 individuals (22%) were identified with a total of 521 facial fractures. The findings revealed a significant reduction in the likelihood of facial fractures among helmeted cyclists compared with those without helmets (odds ratio, 0.65; confidence interval, 0.50-0.85; P=0.002). Specifically, the odds of sustaining fractures in the zygoma, orbit, nose, and maxilla were decreased by 47%, 46%, 43%, and 33%, respectively, among helmeted cyclists. However, helmet use did not significantly alter the odds of mandible fractures. Overall, the use of helmets in bicycling significantly lowered the risk of midface fractures but showed no notable effect on mandible fractures in severe cycling incidents.

Correlation between Tomography Scan Findings and Clinical Presentation and Treatment Outcomes in Patients with Orbital Floor Fractures

Background: Orbital floor fractures involve damage to the orbital floor but not the infraorbital margin. Despite intensive research, they remain a controversial topic. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between parameters gathered by means of computed tomography (CT), the clinical presentation, and treatment outcomes, in patients suffering from orbital floor fractures. Methods: Forty patients with orbital floor fractures were included in this study. Information regarding diplopia, impaired ocular mobility, asymmetric eyeball placement, and infraorbital paresis was gathered from the medical records. Nine CT-based parameters were assessed. Two parameters were calculated, based on them. The follow-up data of 30 patients were analyzed. The results were statistically evaluated. The significance level was p < 0.05. Results: Statistical evaluation revealed multiple correlations between CT-based findings, symptoms, and treatment results. Among others, the hernia into the maxillary sinus was significantly larger in patients without improvement in infraorbital paresis (p = 0.0031) and without improvement in assymetric eyeball placement (p = 0.0037). There was no correlation between the entrapment of the rectus inferior muscle and impaired ocular mobility (p = 0.664431; p = 0.420289) and between the direct fracture of the infraorbital canal and infraorbital paresis (p = 0.371102). Conclusions: The widely assumed thesis that impaired ocular mobility in orbital fractures is caused by entrapment of the rectus inferior muscle is disproved by CT-based data. CT-based findings, symptoms, and treatment results in patients with orbital floor fractures were significantly correlated. A large hernia may be a negative prognostic factor.

Evaluation of the SEVERITY of FACIAL and GENERAL TRAUMA in child and adolescent victims of traffic accidents

•Evaluation of the FISS and TRISS SpO2 to obtain greater rigor in a standardized epidemiological profile of injury severity.•More accurate determination of trauma severity in child and adolescent victims of traffic accidents for improved urgency and emergency care.•Relation between the scales allows for better decisions on patient hospitalization, adequate treatment and the prevention of irreversible injuries.

The Comprehensive Facial Injury (CFI) Score Is an Early Predictor of the Management for Mild, Moderate and Severe Facial Trauma

Identifying groups of patients with homogeneous characteristics and comparable outcomes improves clinical activity, patients' management, and scientific research. This study aims to define mild, moderate, and severe facial trauma by validating two cut-off values of the Comprehensive Facial Injury (CFI) score and describing their foreseeable clinical needs to create a useful guide in patient management, starting from the first evaluation. The individual CFI score, overall surgical time, and length of hospitalization are calculated for a sample of 1400 facial-injured patients. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis and the corresponding Area Under the Curve (AUC) is tested, and a CFI score ≥4 is selected to discriminate patients undergoing surgical management under general anesthesia (Positive Predictive Value, PPV of 91.4%), while a CFI score ≥10 is selected to identify patients undergoing major surgical procedures (Negative Predictive Value, NPV of 91.7%). These results are enhanced by the consensual trend of Length of Stay outcome. The use of the CFI score allows us to distinguish between the "Mild facial trauma" with a low risk of hospitalization for surgical treatment, the "Moderate facial trauma" with a high probability of surgical treatment, and the "Severe facial trauma" that requires long-lasting surgery and hospital stay, with an increased incidence of Intensive Care Unit admission.