Mandibular war injuries caused by bullets and shell fragments: a comparative study

Management of Maxillofacial Gunshot Injuries With Emphasis on Damage Control Surgery During the Yemen Civil War. Review of 173 Victims From a Level 1 Trauma Hospital in Najran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Study Design

Studies on the concept of Damage Control Surgery (DCS) in the management of firearm injuries to the oral and maxillofacial region are still scarce, hence the basis for the current study.

Objectives

The objectives of the current study is to share our experience in the management of maxillofacial gunshot injuries with emphasis on DCS and early definitive surgery.

Methods

This was a retrospective study of combatant Yemeni patients with maxillofacial injuries who were transferred across the border from Yemen to Najran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Demographics and etiology of injuries were stored. Paths of entry and exit of the projectiles were also noted. Also recorded were types of gunshot injury and treatment protocols adopted. Data was stored and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows Version 25 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp).

Results

A total of 408 victims, all males, were seen during the study period with 173 (42.4%) males sustaining gunshot injuries to the maxillofacial region. Their ages ranged from 21 to 56 years with mean ± SD (27.5 ± 7.6) years. One hundred and twenty-one (70.0%) victims had extraoral bullet entry, while 53 (30.0%) victims had intraoral entry route. Ocular injuries, consisting of 25 (14.5%) cases of ruptured globe and 6 (3.5%) cases of corneal injuries, were the most commonly associated injuries. A total of 78 (45.1%) hemodynamically unstable victims had DCS as the adopted treatment protocol while early definitive surgery was carried out in 47(27.2%) hemodynamically stable victims. ORIF was the treatment modality used for the fractures in 132 (76.3%) of the victims.

Conclusions

We observed that 42.4% of the war victims sustained gunshot injuries. DCS with ORIF was the main treatment protocol adopted in the management of the hemodynamically unstable patients.

Mandibular traumas by gunshot. A systematic review with meta-analysis and algorithm of treatment

The treatment of mandibular fractures by gunshot ranges from late conservative repair to more aggressive early repair in a single stage. Treatments that preserve bony architecture as much as possible should be used, minimising patient morbidity and the complexity of future surgeries. The purpose of this study was to use a systematic review to determine which method of treatment was most effective for mandibular fractures by gunshot. Searches were conducted on Medline via PubMed, Scopus, Central Cochrane, and Sigle via Open Grey up to August 2019. Four studies were eligible to this systematic review, considering the previously establish inclusion and exclusion criteria. A total of 211 patients were evaluated. The mandibular body was the region more fractured followed by the symphyseal/parasymphyseal region. The closed treatment with intermaxillary fixation (IMF) was the most used followed by open surgery with internal rigid fixation (IRF) and external fixator. Considering the total adverse effects, the meta-analysis showed no statistically significant difference between the IMF and IRF groups (p=0.840), but IMF showed five times less infection and IRF six times less malunion. The algorithm was delineated from the types of injuries by gunshot, proposing forms of treatment from initial stabilisation to functional rehabilitation with implant-supported prostheses. The treatment of mandibular fractures by gunshot remains a challenge for surgeons. There was a statistically significant prevalence of success in the IRF group, however this group was also associated with a higher index of infection than the IMF group. New studies with high methodological quality and larger numbers of participants are needed to offer more safety for surgeons who treat patients with mandibular fractures by gunshot.