LIFE-THREATENING COMPLICATIONS AND IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE FOLLOWING MAXILLOFACIAL TRAUMA

Trauma remains one of the principle causes of mortality in the western world, especially among young adults. The most serious immediate life -threatening complication following maxillofacial trauma is airway obs truction. The onset can be sudden, as with foreign body aspiration, or following soft-tissue damage that can lead at a later stage to airway -compromising oedema. The medical literature regarding facial trauma a ppears to support the hypothesis that maxillofacial trauma alone is ra rely life threatening, or will not lead to life-threatening conditions unless associated with airway compromise. There are some causes of li fe-threatening complications following trauma to the maxillofacial reg ion such as massive bleeding or undiagnosed cervical spine damage that may cause irreversible damage unless immediate operation is undertake n. The almost complete lack of reports dealing with death or irreversi ble damage in trauma involving the maxillofacial region prompted us to review and analyse the importance of immediate intervention following trauma to the maxillofacial region, in order to treat life-threatenin g complications and prevent irreversible damage. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.