Association between facial soft tissue injury and facial fracture

Abstract

Facial soft tissue injuries are extremely common injuries seen in the emergency department. It is a prerequisite for facial bone fracture to occur but not affirm fracture is present. A better understanding of the relationship between the patterns of facial soft tissue injury with the occurrence of facial fractures can improve clinical diagnosis and optimised investigative plansThe objective of this study was to look for the association between type of facial soft tissue injury and underlying facial fractures based on anatomical sites. Data were collected in a study over a period of 10 months from January 2022 until October 2022. Subjects were recruited at the emergency department in all cases that were referred to either the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery or Plastic Reconstructive Surgery speciality. A proforma was used to collect epidemiological and clinical data. Soft tissue injuries were divided to laceration, abrasion, and contusion for both extraoral and intraoral injuries. Radiograph imagings were assessed for any facial fractures and the findings recorded. A total of 134 subjects fulfilled the study’s criteria and included in the study. Laceration wound was the most common injury sustained in facial trauma. Most common site of soft tissue injury was frontal, orbit, zygoma and chin, whereas most common site for facial fracture was orbital, zygoma and cheek which is coherent with the T-zone of the face. There was a statistically significant association between presence soft tissue injury and sustaining facial fracture at p-value= <0.01. However, there was no statistically significant association between type soft tissue injury and sustaining facial fracture, except for orbital zone with p-value= <0.05. In conclusion, the type of soft tissue injury are not associated with the presence of underlying facial fracture except for the orbital zone.