Trends in the last decade of maxillofacial trauma in England

Injuries to the face, mouth and jaws are common presentations to UK hospitals. Understanding the current volume of work and the recent changes can yield important lessons for the teams that deal with facial injuries. We examined the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) covering England for the financial reporting years ending in 2015-2024 for relevant diagnoses and procedures undertaken during hospital admissions. A significant reduction in activity in many areas due to COIVD-19 was found. We report on the change between average volumes of activity in the years ending 2015-17, compared with the years ending 2022-24. For soft tissue trauma there was an 11.3% reduction in recorded repairs between these time periods. There were also reductions in orbital (-20.7%), nasoethmoidal (-22.2%), zygomatic complex (-32.4%), nasal (-52.9%), and mandibular (-18.5%) fracture repairs. In many areas this was found in contrast to increased diagnosis of these fracture types. In conclusion, for many types of facial trauma, there has been a reduction in clinically significant events over the last decade. Improved diagnosis and changes in coding behaviour may account for increased recognition of injuries with less clinical relevance.