Concomitant injuries and complications according to categories of pan-facial fracture: a retrospective study

The purpose of this study was to investigate concomitant injuries and complications in patients with panfacial fracture (PF) according to patterns of PF.

PF is defined as fractures involving at least three of the four facial parts (frontal, upper midface, lower midface, and mandible). The data for this study were retrospectively analysed. A simple regression analysis, Cramer's V analysis, and Pearson's correlation analysis were used for verifying significance and correlation between the investigated factors and patterns of PF. Short-term postoperative surgical complications were classified according to the Clavien-Dindo classification (CDC).

There was a statistically significant association between age and PF pattern (ULM: 44.9 ± 19.2; FUL: 42.0 ± 16.8; FULM: 33.6 ± 15.3; FUM: 65; p = 0.024), between the cause of injury and PF pattern (p = 0.047), and between operative time and fracture pattern (ULM: 4h 45min ± 2h 21min; FUL: 5h 19min ± 2h 54min; FULM: 7h 19min ± 4h 13min; FUM: 2h 15min ± 0; p = 0.008). 89% of patients had concomitant injuries in other body parts. In the CDC grade groups, rade IVa cases (n = 4) showed statistically significant differences with PF patterns (p = 0.006). Of all the patients, 58.6% (n = 58) complained of postoperative complications.

PF patients can have different fracture patterns, depending on age and cause of trauma. Consequently, different PF patterns have different types of concomitant injuries and complications. PF patients with frontal area fracture have higher CDC grades, and may need ICU care. Therefore, classifying PFs will be a first step towards a systemic approach for treating and reducing complications.