The morbidity associated with fifty maxillary fractures treated by closed reduction

Fifty patients with maxillary fractures treated by closed reduction over an 85 month period at a Level I trauma center were reviewed. Thirty patients (60%) experienced forty-one midfacial complications. The most frequent problems were infraorbital nerve paresthesia (12), enophthalmus (5), septal deviation (3), and altered vision (3). No relationship could be established between complications and age, sex, cause of injury, or the method of suspension used. Most complications were related to concomitant injury or the concurrent management of fractures of other facial bones. Only eight problems (16%) were directly attributed to the closed reduction of maxillary fractures. Patients treated by closed reduction and maxillomandibular fixation without suspension experienced no surgical complications.