Etiology and Pattern of Maxillofacial Fractures in Medellín, Colombia: a Retrospective Analysis of 2680 Patients Patrón Etiológico de Fracturas Maxilofaciales en Medellín, Colombia: un Análisis Retrospectivo de 2680 Pacientes

Maxillofacial injuries can cause significant long-term functional, esthetic, and psychological complication. Besides, these injuries may pose a substantial economic consequence for the patients as the treatment may involve a complex procedure. The purpose of the current retrospective study was to investigate the pattern of maxillofacial fractures in Medellín, Colombia over a 13-year period (1998–2010). A retrospective study of 2680 subjects with 4893 maxillofacial fractures admitted at the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department of the San Vicente de Paul University Hospital in Medellín, Colombia, is presented. The patients were evaluated by age, gender, etiology, type of injury, treatment modalities and hospitalization time. The Chi-Square test was used to compare the counts of categorical response between two independent variables. The study population consisted of 2193 males and 487 females with a mean age of 26.5 (SD: 13.5) years. The age group 21-30 years accounted for the largest subgroup in both sexes. The most common cause of the fractures was traffic related followed by interpersonal violence. There were mainly mandibular, maxilla alveolar process and zygomatic bone fractures in both males and females, accounting for approximately 92% of all fractures. The main fracture site of the mandible was the mandibular condyle. The results of the present study reveal that road traffic accidents remain among the main reasons of maxillofacial fractures. Measures on prevention of road traffic crashes and policies that strengthen social investment should be strongly emphasized in order to reduce the occurrence of these injuries.