Chin trauma: a clue to associated mandibular and cervical spine injury

Chin trauma, mandibular fracture, and cervical spine injury are often progressive components of a single injury pattern. Knowledge of a commonly occurring sequence of damage in patients who have sustained minor head trauma helps to minimize diagnostic omissions and provides a rational basis for deciding how extensive the patient's evaluation should be. Chin laceration associated with underlying skeletal damage has been described previously, but its diagnostic significance seldom has been appreciated. This report describes representative patients with fractures of the cervical spine and of the mandible secondary to chin trauma and suggests a protocol for efficient diagnosis.