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The severity of maxillofacial firearm injuries The primary emergency treatment of ballistic
depends on the degree and direction of force in injuries to the face should be carried out in accord-
ance with the Advanced Trauma Life Support
Correspondence to: Dr. Mohamed H. Osman, (ATLS) recommendations, with airway manage-
E-Mail: mh.osman@yahoo.com ment and control of bleeding [10] . However, there
181
182 Managing Maxillofacial Firearm Injuries
is no consensus on management of these cases 6- Augmentation of the effect of the primary mis-
after initial stabilization; multiple opinions exist siles occurs as bone and tooth fragments function
concerning the timing, sequence and techniques as secondary missiles.
of surgical treatment. We present the experience-
based protocol we use in the treatment of maxillo- Treatment protocol:
facial firearm injuries at our medical center in a Our protocol has three phases:
simple and clear way. Phase I: Primary lifesaving procedures, according
to ATLS protocols:
Patients and Methods
- Airway: Maintain patent airway with suction
Between 2006 and 2013, 179 patients were and/or nasopharyngeal tube, nasotracheal tube,
treated at our institution for firearm injuries. The cricothyroidotomy or tracheostomy.
site of injury, associated injuries, surgical proce- - Bleeding: Control accessible bleeding with direct
dure, complications and final outcome of the pa- pressure and packing for hemostasis.
tients were recorded and discussed. - Cervical collar.
This work was approved by the Institutional - Intravenous line and hemodynamic stabilization.
Human Research and Ethics Committee. Written - Thorough clinical systematic examination, prior-
informed consent for surgery and for inclusion in itizing:
this study was provided by adult patients and by Vascular injuries.
the parent or guardian of patients under 18 years CNS injuries.
of age. Abdominal injuries.
Compound fractures.
Diagnostic methods:
Patients underwent clinical examination, plain - Imaging: Radiological investigations after patient
radiography (panoramic X-ray, oblique films and stabilization (cervical spine, panoramic view,
posterior-anterior plain films), Computed Tomog- skull, chest, CT, 3D CT.
raphy (CT) and Three-Dimensional (3D) CT. - Supportive treatment (anti-tetanic, antibiotic,
analgesics and a single injection of corticosteroid).
Pathophysiology:
Patients had variable degrees of systemic health - Medical and medico-legal records.
risk, according to their age, severity of trauma, Phase II: Surgical procedures:
systems affected, time between trauma and initia-
tion of primary care, type of weapon used, facilities 1- Soft tissue:
available and presence of concomitant chronic - Tissue preservation: Meticulous primary clo-
disease (e.g. diabetes, hypertension, coronary dis- sure of intraoral and extraoral soft tissues to
ease). provide full coverage of bone and fractures.
- Local flaps for soft tissue repair.
Projectile wounds cause multiple local effects,
including: 2- Bone:
1- Penetration allows the projectile to transmit - Conservative debridement of bone fragments.
kinetic energy, producing tissue destruction and - Restoration and stabilization of occlusal rela-
laceration along its tract. tions via closed reduction and intermaxillary
2- Permanent cavity formation results from direct fixation (with minimal use of transosseous
tissue disruption and destruction. wire, plates and screws).
3- Temporary cavity formation occurs as the pro- - Reconstruction of bone defects using bone
grafts (calvarial, rib, iliac crest or vascularized
jectile travels through the target tissue.
free grafts) during the first weeks following
4- Fragmentation occurs, which may involve the trauma.
projectile (certain projectiles are designed to
3- Broken teeth and remaining roots: Avoid removal
fragment) or secondary fragments such as cloth-
if this would require excessive manipulation
ing or bone that arise from projectile impact.
and periosteal stripping.
5- Contamination occurs through the exit and inlet
4- Foreign bodies: If accessible, remove; if inac-
wounds, as air and foreign materials are sucked
cessible, leave them.
into the wounds as a result of negative pressure
within the cavity. 5- Drain the maxillary sinus with a Foley catheter.
Salah Eldein Shal tout & Mohammed H. Osman 183
6- Facial nerve: No immediate facial nerve graft Table (2): Age distribution of the patients.
in avulsive wounds, because mostly muscle and
Age group (years) Number of patients
nerve has been destroyed.
7- Safe post-operative airway: Temporary trache- 0-20 16
ostomy can be performed, if not done before 20-40 97
surgery, in case of:
40-60 53
Avulsive wounds of the lower and middle
thirds of the face. 60-80 11
CNS injury.
Laceration of the tongue or soft palate. All patients had soft-tissue injury with or with-
Hematoma or edema in the neck. out bone injury in the facial region. Injuries were
Laryngeal injury or edema. classified into the following categories:
Retained bullet behind the nasopharynx. Soft-tissue laceration, intraoral or extraoral,
with no soft-tissue loss or bone fracture (19
Phase III: Reconstruction of bone defect and cor- patients).
rection of any remaining deformity:
Any bone defect can be reconstructed at a later Soft-tissue loss with no bone fracture (one pa-
stage, depending on the general condition of the tient).
patient and local condition of the tissues. Recon- Soft-tissue laceration with bone fracture (146
struction usually occurs within 6 months, using patients). The most commonly affected sites were
iliac bone, rib, calvarial or microvascular bone the mandible (62 cases), maxilla (28 cases),
graft or distraction osteogenesis. zygomatic region (21 cases), nose (one case) and
frontal bone (one case). In 20 patients, more than
Results
one site was injured.
Between 2006 and 2013, a total of 179 patients Soft-tissue laceration with bone loss (1 1 patients).
were treated for maxillofacial firearm injuries at
our institution, representing 4.29% of all maxillo- Soft-tissue and bone loss (two patients).
facial trauma cases (Table 1). Patients were fol-
lowed for at least 6 months. There were 151 male Our principles for soft tissue reconstruction
and 28 female patients, with ages ranging from 5 were in accordance with the reconstructive ladder,
to 68 years (Table 2). The injuries were accidental including primary repair in most cases (165 pa-
in seven cases; the remaining injuries resulted from tients), local flaps in seven patients, skin grafts in
assault. Airway patency was ensured with imme- one patient and regional flaps in three patients,
diate tracheostomy in the ER in nine patients and depending on the extent of damage.
naso-pharyngeal intubation in 13 patients; in the
remaining cases, positioning and suction were Our principle for bone reconstruction was to
used. In 28 patients tracheostomy was performed restore shape, contour and occlusion using closed
at the conclusion of surgery to ensure a safe post- reduction with intermaxillary fixation, with minimal
operative airway. use of interosseous wiring, plates and screws.
Thirteen cases had bone loss (three in the maxilla,
Table (1): Percentage of maxillofacial firearm injuries among nine in the mandible and one in the nose). The
total number of maxillofacial trauma cases. three cases with maxillary bone loss refused further
reconstructive surgery. The remaining 10 cases
Maxillofacial Maxillofacial
Year Percentage were reconstructed within 6 months after the pri-
trauma firearm injuries
mary surgery, six with iliac bone grafts, three with
2006 467 7 1.5 rib grafts and one with an external distractor in a
2007 453 9 1.9 patient with mandibular bone loss.
2008 512 6 1.17
2009 493 15 3
2010 443 18 4 Associated injuries:
2011 590 28 4.74 Associated injuries included ocular injuries in
2012 579 40 6.7 13 patients, abdominal injuries in two, limb injuries
2013 609 56 9.19 in six, chest injuries in seven, CNS injuries in five,
otorrhea in seven and cervical spine injuries in
Total 4164 179 4.29 three.
184 Managing Maxillofacial Firearm Injuries
Outcomes:
Five patients died, three in the ER before sur-
gery due to polytrauma and two post-operatively
owing to deterioration of consciousness.
Complications:
Complications included superficial wound in-
fection in nine cases and fluid collection requiring
drainage in two cases. Infections were controlled
with antibiotics based on culture and sensitivity
in seven cases; two patients required removal of
plates and interosseous wires. Mouth deviation
occurred in four cases and malocclusion in five
cases. Fig. (1): Male patient with severe facial firearm injury.
(A) (B)
(D)
(C)
(E) (F)
(G)
Fig. (4): Male patient, 17 years of age. (A) Immediate
post-traumatic photograph showing the injury. (B) Ten days
after injury: Clinical photograph showing ischemia of the
skin of the lower eyelid and upper part of the left check. (C)
Clinical photograph after debridement. (D) Expansion of the
frontal skin 4 months after injury. (E,F) Intra-operative photos
showing elevation of flaps and reconstruction of the eyelid.
(G) Follow-up photograph showing acceptable results.