Management of Le Fort I fracture

ABSTRACT

Among the classification of maxillary fracture, the Le Fort classification is the best-known categorization. Le Fort (1901) completed experiments that determined the maxilla areas of structural weakness which he designated as the “lines of weakness”. According to these results, there are three basic fracture line patterns (transverse, pyramidal and craniofacial disjunction). A transverse fracture is a Le Fort I fracture that is above the level of the apices of the maxillary teeth section, including the entire alveolar process of the maxilla, vault of the palate and inferior ends of the pterygoid processes in a single block from the upper craniofacial skeleton. Le Fort fractures result in both a cosmetic and a functional deficit if treated inappropriately. In this article, authors review the management of a Le Fort I fracture with a case-based discussion.