[Craniofacial trauma. Value and methods of early treatment. 70 cases (author's transl)]

The two essential problems posed by craniofacial trauma are assessed in the light of 70 collected cases. Firstly, the "time" of treatment. Immediate surgery by two teams, neurosurgical and maxillofacial, may be justified in the presence of craniocerebral lesions. This occurs rarely. The cranial problem is often explored during the first 3 or 4 days and with the exception of certain cases of immediate or delayed coma, maxillofacial treatment may be undertaken early. The treatment of cerebrospinal fluid fistulae remains controversial. Secondly, the surgical technique. Accent is placed upon two points which are still discussed : cutaneous phase and bone phase in open trauma ; reconstruction of the cranial level and the facial mass by fixation using plates or steel wire, bone grafts or inert materials, with in particular surgery for fractures of the floor of the orbit in all cases. A number of clinical cases suggest that suitability of eclectism in this surgical approach to craniofacial trauma.