Blindness following severe midfacial trauma--case report and review

Injury mechanism of midfacial fractures in football causes in over 40% typical neurological symptoms of minor brain injuries

PURPOSE

The injury mechanisms of midfacial fractures may be typical causes of concussion, but hardly any scientific data on midfacial injuries sustained in football are available. Head and brain trauma represent frequent injuries in athletes of different sports that require appropriate treatment by sports and trauma physicians. This study investigated the management of midfacial fractures in football and the association of such fractures with concomitant brain injury.

METHODS

In a prospective cohort study lasting 24 months (2012 to 2013), midfacial injuries of football players were analysed with regard to the injury mechanisms, first aid procedures on the field, treatment and return-to-play. To analyse concomitant and potentially overlooked minor brain injuries due to the trauma, we retrospectively investigated the neurological symptoms of the study population.

RESULTS

The study included 132 football players (37 semi-professionals and 95 amateurs) with midfacial fractures. The main injury mechanisms were head-to-head and head-to-elbow trauma. The mean period of return-to-play after trauma was 33.5 days, which was significantly shortened if a protective face mask was worn (mean 10.4 days earlier, p = 0.0006). Semi-professional football players returned to play earlier (p = 0.009) and more often used protective face masks (p = 0.001). 55 players (41.6%) had neurological symptoms immediately after trauma as a possible sign of concomitant minor brain injury. 5 of 132 players with concussion had been hospitalised for 24 h, but no persistent neurological symptoms were detected.

CONCLUSION

In football, midfacial fractures represent moderate-to-severe injuries with time away from sports of more than 4 weeks. Over 40% of athletes with a midfacial fracture showed concomitant neurological symptoms as a sign of minor brain injury. Therefore, sports physicians and other staff supervising athletes in daily practice should be aware of the presence of neurological symptoms.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level III.

Association of Midfacial Fractures with Ophthalmic Injury

The aim of this study is to evaluate the incidence of ophthalmic complications following midfacial fractures and investigate its relation to surgical or nonsurgical treatment. This article is a retrospective study, describing the spectrum and incidence of ophthalmic injury in 106 patients presenting with midfacial fractures at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of the University Hospitals Leuven over a period of 16 months (January 2013 to April 2014). The mean age of the patients was 45.6 years with a gender distribution of 68 men and 38 women. The main cause of trauma was road traffic accidents. Forty-one patients suffered an ophthalmic injury following the fracture. Twelve of them had a persistent ophthalmic problem. Ophthalmic examination is necessary during the initial management. The time window for preservation of sight is small and treatment should be started immediately. Development of an emergency trauma scale that includes fractures, symptoms of visual impairment, and patient history is recommended and should stimulate a multidisciplinary approach of complex cases.

Immediate Surgical Management of Traumatic Dislocation of the Eye Globe into the Maxillary Sinus: Report of a Rare Case and Literature Review

We report a case of complete dislocation of the globe into the maxillary sinus, with immediate repositioning of the globe. This report highlights the importance of early surgical repair of orbital fracture and globe repositioning to regain the maximum amount of ocular functions. A review of literature found 19 cases of globe dislocation into the maxillary sinus: One case was enucleated 2 months after misdiagnosis as traumatic enucleation, six cases were documented no vision or no light perception, three cases did not have reported vision (patients did not survive), and nine cases with postoperative vision. We recommend early surgical intervention to restore the cosmetic and visual function of the dislocated eye.