Review of Orbital Fractures in an Urban Level I Trauma Center

Objective: To perform a comprehensive review and analysis of surgically treated orbital fractures.

Study design: Retrospective cohort chart review study for surgically treated orbital fractures during 5 years.

Results: A total of 173 patients (average age 41.6 years) were diagnosed with orbital fractures. Most were male with a ratio of 3.3:1. Most fractures were caused by assault (39.3%); 22.5% of the cases were bilateral. The left orbit (40.5%) was fractured more than the right. The orbital floor (97.1%) was the most common anatomic location and the maxilla (65.3%) was the most commonly involved bone. The average time from trauma to surgical intervention was 8.7 ± 14.6 days and the average time from surgical intervention to discharge was 5.1 ± 9.0 days. The transconjunctival incision (63%) was the most commonly used incision, and nonresorbable implant (92.7%) was the most commonly used implant. Finally, the length of stay for the repair of a simple orbital fracture was less than for complex orbital fracture (1.5 days and 5.9 days, respectively).

Conclusion: Understanding the patterns and mechanisms of injury associated with orbital fractures can assist in developing standardized treatment protocols across all surgical specialties. This would ultimately allow for a uniform high quality of surgical care for patients with maxillofacial fractures.