Differences in Common Orbital Blowout Fracture Sites by Age

The purpose of this study was to compare orbital blowout fracture sites among different age groups.

This retrospective, observational, comparative study included 671 sides of 663 patients with an orbital blowout fracture. The authors classified patients into five groups based on age (childhood, 0 to 9 years; adolescence, 10 to 18 years; early adulthood, 19 to 44 years; middle adulthood, 45 to 64 years; and late adulthood, 65 years or older); causes of injury into five categories (i.e., sports, traffic accident, assault, fall, and others); and orbital blowout fracture sites into four regions [i.e., the orbital floor lateral (lateral floor) or medial to the infraorbital groove/canal (medial floor); the inferomedial orbital strut (strut); and the medial orbital wall (medial wall)].

A single medial floor fracture was observed in 70.3 percent of patients in the childhood age group. However, the proportion of patients with a single medial wall fracture or multiple fracture sites increased with age. A medial wall fracture was more common than a medial floor fracture in late adulthood. The distribution of orbital blowout fracture sites, the ratio of single or multiple fracture sites, and the causes of injury were statistically different among the age groups (p = 0.005, p = 0.003, and p < 0.001, respectively, Pearson chi-square test).

Common orbital blowout fracture sites varied among age groups. These differences may be attributed to multiple factors, including differences in the morphology of the orbit and paranasal sinuses, composition of the facial bone, and causes of injury among age groups.