RESUMO
Background: Head and facial injuries account for 30% of all injuries and cause 26% of deaths. Cervical spine injuries associated with these injuries causes hemiplegia, paraplegia and quadriplegia. When such morbid injuries occurs, the only bread winner of the family loses source of income and the entire family suffers. The hospital stay significantly increases further leading to financial burden. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted at Department of Dentistry, Government Medical College, Dimrapal, Jagadalpur over a period of 5 years. This is a cross sectional study with descriptive analysis of the data. Cases of Maxillofacial Injuries were retrieved from database of the medical records department and from Department OPD register. Demographic data included gender, age group, the region from where the patient represented. The clinical presentation of the fracture site, etiology, and associate injuries was included in the study. Data is presented as frequency tables and percentages. Results: Of the 658 patients with facial fractures, 321 were males, 217 females and the rest 120 in the pediatric age group (up to 14 years of age). Road traffic accidents amounted to predominant group of patients with facial fractures(n=341), Inter-personal fights lead to 49 facial fractures. 132 patient’s had facial fractures due to fall. Animal attacks caused 11 facial fractures. 125 patients were categorized in the “other category”. Conclusion: The incidence and pattern of maxillofacial fractures vary from country to country depending upon prevailing geographical, social, cultural and environmental factors. Management of maxillofacial injuries in a pre-hospital setup is definitely different from the regular protocol of managing abdominal or long bone injuries. The importance of cervical spine control and its undue consequences is well known to all medical professionals.