Surgical management of camel-related craniofacial injuries

There are no studies focused on the types and management of camel-related craniofacial injuries.

We aimed to analyze the pattern of injuries that required surgical management and their specific operative treatment.

We prospectively collected data of all patients who were admitted to Al Ain Hospital with camel-related craniofacial injuries that were treated operatively during the period of January 2015 to January 2020.

Eleven patients were studied; all were males having a median (range) age of 29 (19-66) years. Falling from a camel was the most common mechanism of injury (45.5 %) followed by camel bite (36.4 %). The most common injured region was the middle third of the face, which accounted for 56.5% of the bony fractures. Zygomatico-maxillary complex fractures were present in 60% of patients who fell while riding a camel. The most common surgical procedure performed in our patients was an open reduction with internal fixation (54.5%). There was no mortality.

camel-related craniofacial injuries are complex. The main mechanism of injury is falling from a camel on the face causing fractures of the zygomatico-maxillary complex. These fractures usually need open reduction with internal fixation. Taking safety precautions may help in injury prevention.