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Background
Prehospital Care
- Assess patients ability to speak and protect the airway before and frequently during transport
- Hematomas can significantly distort pharyngeal and facial anatomy making intubation or cricothyroidotomy difficult
- Increased jaw mobility from a mid face fracture may help with intubation
- Penetrating trauma to the lower third of the face frequently requires intubation or a surgical airway[1]
- Place a protective shield over an eye suspected to have a ruptured globe
- Patients should remain upright or reverse trendelenberg if there is oropharyngeal and nasal bleeding to avoid aspiration especially if placed in cervical protection
- Temporizing hemostasis with oral and nasal packing in an intubated patient may help with persistent bleeding
- Transport all avulsed pieces of the face including ears and nose
Pediatric Considerations
- Cricothyrotomy is contraindicated in patients <8yr old
- Maxillary sinuses do not develop until 6 yr old (reduces midfacial fracture)
- Pediatric orbital floor is more pliable, more likely to lead to entrapment
- Mandible fracture requires prompt referral (1-2d) due to rapid bone remodeling
Clinical Features
Face
- Numbness
- Check supraorbital, infraorbital, and mental nerves
- Assess Le Fort by rocking hard palate with one hand while stabilizing forehead with other
Eye
- Exam
- Bird's eye view for exophthalmos with retrobulbar hematoma
- Worm's view for endophthalmos (blow-out fracture) or malar prominence flattening (zygoma fracture)
- Acuity
- Diplopia
- Binocular diplopia suggests entrapment of EOM
- Monocular diplopia suggets lens dislocation
- Extraocular motion
- Limitation on upward gaze occurs with fracture of inf and medial orbital wall
- Pupil
- Teardrop sign (globe rupture), hyphema, reactivity (swinging flashlight test)
- Pressure (only if rule out globe rupture)
- Check in patients with exophthalmos, afferent nerve defect or evidence of retrobulbar hematoma
- Fat through wound = septal perforation
- Raccoon eyes
Nose
- Crepitus over any facial sinus suggests sinus fracture
- Septal Hematoma
- Make sure simple nasal fracture isn't a complex naso-orbito-ethmoid injury
Ears
Oral
- Intraoral palpation of zygomatic arch to distinguish bony from soft tissue injury
- Mandible Fracture
- Place finger in auditory canal while patient opens and closes jaw to detect condyle fracture
- Tongue blade test
- 95% Sn for no fracture if can bite down hard enough to break it when twisted by examiner
- Jaw deviation due to mandible dislocation or condyle fracture
- Chin will point away from dislocation, towards a fracture
- Malocclusion occurs in mandible, zygomatic, and Le Fort fracture
- Lacerations and mucosal ecchymosis suggests mandible fracture
Differential Diagnosis
Evaluation
Workup
- Suspect midface fracture > facial CT
- Suspect orbital floor fracture > orbital CT
- Suspect mandibular fracture > CT face
Management
- Treat underlying process/diagnosis
Disposition
- Bedside consult is necessary for:
See Also
References
- ↑ Hollier L. et al. Facial gunshot wounds: A 4-year experience. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. 2011: 59:277-282
