REVIEW   

European Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 2017 August;1(2):44-9

DOI: 10.23736/S2532-3466.17.00117-5

Copyright © 2017 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Life-threatening maxillofacial trauma: challenges in ER and management

Mele P. SREERAM ¹ ✉, Arjun KRISHNADAS ², Diana BALACHANDRAN ³, Rajeev SOMASUNDARAM ⁴, Jophy JOSE ⁵

¹ Department of Surgical Oncology, Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Banglore, India; ² Department of Craniomaxillofacial Surgery, Amrita Institute of Medical Science, Kochi, India; ³ Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi, India; ⁴ Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kerala Institute of Medical Science, Kochi, India; ⁵ Private Practitioner, Kochi, India

Facial trauma is one of the most common among the myriad of injuries seen in the emergency department. Due to its devastating life threatening complications, it demands special attention. Maxillofacial trauma has the propensity to compromise a patient’s airway and may lead to morbidity or mortality. The time available for the ER physician to stabilize the patient is short and if not managed promptly, he/she may deteriorate rapidly. The aim of this article is to review the steps in initial management and stabilization of the patient by an ER physician without seeking the help of a maxillofacial surgeon.

KEY WORDS: Surgery, oral - Fractures, bone - Pterygoid muscles