Midface fractures surgically treated in Instituto Traumatológico of Santiago (Chile): A 10 years review.

Abstract

Introduction. Maxillofacial fractures are associated with high morbidity, loss of function, aesthetics and psychological sequelae and substancial economical costs for surgical treatment. The incidence and the prevalence of maxillofacial trauma have been reported in many countries, with differences being found between studies due to sociocultural factors. Our aim is to describe the frequency of surgically treated midface fractures in Instituto Traumatologico of Santiago, Chile.Materials and Methods. We performed a cross sectional study at Maxillofacial Surgery Department of Instituto Traumatológico (Chile), by reviewing medical records of subjects with midfacial fractures treated surgically from January 2001 to December 2010. Information was collected according to patient age and gender, aetiology, type of fracture, health insurance and date of the intervention. The sample consisted of 549 patients.Results. There was a total of 549 patients with a total of 709 fractures. The male:female ratio with midface fractures was 5,3:1. The most affected age group was from 20 and 29 years. Most fractures were caused by aggression. The most common fracture was nasal, followed by zygomatic complex fractures.Conclusion. The findings of the study allow us to know the distribution patterns of surgically treated midface fractures. Our study showed similar characteristics to other studies in terms of affected population and the distribution of the location of fractures.

Keywords

• Maxillofacial Injuries
• epidemiology
• midface fracture.