New directions in the management of cleft lip.

Advances in cleft lip and palate have included improved understanding of its etiopathogenesis, genetics, and the surgical evolution of technical refinements in the correction of this deformity.

The relationship between facial fractures and death from neurologic injury.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to review patients who failed to survive blunt trauma and to determine whether there is a relationship between specific facial fracture patterns and death. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective record review of patients with facial fractures admitted to a level I trauma center between January 1, 1993 and December 31, 1996. Records were reviewed for gender, age, injury severity score (ISS), Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), revised probability of survival (RPS), cause of death, and facial fracture pattern. Facial fracture patterns were grouped as lower face (mandible), midface (maxilla, zygoma, nose, and orbits), and upper face (frontal bone). Causes of death were grouped into neurologic, visceral, combined neurologic and visceral, and other. Surviving and nonsurviving groups were compared. Parametric data were analyzed with a pooled or separate variance t-test, nonparametric data with a Mann-Whitney U-test, and categorical variables with a chi-square test (P < or = .05). The odds ratio with corresponding 95% confidence intervals was used to show the association between facial fracture patterns and death. RESULTS: During the 4-year period, 6,117 patients were admitted with blunt trauma, 661 (11%) of whom had facial fractures. Those who died were more likely to be older than those who survived, with a lower GCS, lower RPS, and higher ISS. Although there was a male predominance in the patient population, there was no gender difference between those who died and those who survived. Surviving patients were more likely to have only isolated mandible injuries. Nonsurvivors were more likely to have isolated midface fractures or combinations of midface and other facial fractures. The odds ratio showed a 13 to 75 times greater risk of patients dying of neurologic injury with patterns other than isolated mandible injury than with any mid- or upper-facial fracture patterns. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with survivors, nonsurviving patients with facial fractures were older and had a lower GCS, higher ISS, and lower RPS. Nonsurviving patients had a dramatic predilection for mid- and upper-facial fracture patterns and death of neurologic injury.

An in vitro comparison of the effect of number and pattern of positional screws on load resistance.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this in vitro investigation was to determine whether the number or pattern of placement of positional screws affected their ability to resist vertical loads resembling mastication. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Standardized bone substitutes were secured with varying numbers of 17.0-mm-long, 2.0-mm outer diameter, self-tapping titanium screws (W. Lorenz Surgical, Jacksonville, FL) in various patterns using a positional screw technique. These patterns included one, two, three, four, and five screws in a linear pattern; two screws in a vertical pattern; three screws in an L-pattern, inverted-L pattern, backward-L pattern, inverted-backward-L pattern, and right and left diagonal pattern; four screws in a box pattern; and five screws in a domino pattern. Five models of each group were fabricated along with a control group. The models were secured in a jig and subjected to vertical loads by an Instron 8511.20 Mechanical Testing Unit (Canton, MA) until failure. Common engineering standards, including yield load, yield displacement, stiffness, maximum load, and displacement at maximum load, were measured, and means and standard deviations were derived and compared for statistical significance with an analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Scheffe multiple comparison test. RESULTS: Screw number and pattern of placement affected the mechanical characteristics in resistance to vertical load. Screw numbers less than three and all linear patterns were the least effective. The three-screw L patterns, as a category, provided greater resistance to vertical loads than either the three-screw linear or three-screw diagonal patterns. The addition of more than three screws in geometric patterns offered no greater benefit than the three-screw L patterns. CONCLUSIONS: In this in vitro study, the three-screw L patterns were the most effective and efficient when using the positional screw technique.

Diagnosis and management of blunt carotid artery injury in oral and maxillofacial surgery.

PURPOSE: Traumatic occlusion of the internal carotid artery (ICA) is a rare complication of maxillofacial trauma or surgery. This investigation evaluated patient demographics, diagnostic methods, and effective therapeutic modalities associated with blunt carotid injury (BCI). PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of patient records with an ICD-9-CM diagnosis of carotid injury conducted at MetroHealth Medical Center during the 24-month period between August 1993 and July 1995. Carotid injuries attributable to penetrating trauma were excluded. Age, gender, cause of injury, Glasgow Coma Scale score, Injury Severity Score, type and location of injury, concomitant injury, diagnostic methods, treatment modalities, and outcome were identified, recorded, and analyzed. RESULTS: During the 24-month period, 12 patients (seven males and five females) suffered BCI. These patients were divided into two groups based on cause of the problem. In group I, there were 3,214 blunt trauma patients admitted during the 2-year study, of which 10 patients had BCI, representing 0.31% of blunt trauma patients, and 1.2% of patients with head injuries. Seven patients presented with hemiplegia, two with cranial nerve palsy, and one with perceptual neglect. Ninety percent of the patients had associated injuries. Two patients had surgical intervention, three received anticoagulation, and five had only supportive care. Four of the 10 patients died, four had moderate neurologic deficits, and two survived with only minor neurologic deficits. In group II, two patients developed BCI after surgery. A 52-year-old woman had a carotid injury after right total temporomandibular joint replacement, and a 48-year-old man who underwent surgical removal of a third molar became hemiplegic postoperatively. The first patient recovered after anticoagulation, whereas the second patient, who received only supportive care, has severe neurologic deficits. CONCLUSIONS: BCI is an uncommon entity. It is usually recognized when a patient develops an unexplained neurologic deficit, most often hemiplegia, subsequent to trauma or surgery of the head, face, or neck. In the early stages, the diagnosis can be missed by carotid ultrasound or computed tomography. The injury is unrelated to Glasgow Coma Scale score. Symptoms may not develop for days after injury in 50% of patients. Anticoagulation appears to be the most beneficial therapeutic modality.