What is tetrapod fracture?
The zygomaticomaxillary complex fracture, also known as a quadripod fracture, quadramalar fracture, and formerly referred to as a tripod fracture or trimalar fracture, has four components, three of which are directly related to connections between the zygoma and the face, and the fourth being an orbital blowout.
What is Zygomaticomaxillary fracture?
A zygomatic complex fracture is a fracture that involves the zygoma and its surrounding bones. The typical lines of a zygomatic complex fracture are: A fracture emanating from the inferior orbital fissure superiorly along the sphenozygomatic suture to the frontozygomatic suture where it crosses the lateral orbital rim.
What are the symptoms of zygomatic fracture?
Broken cheekbone/upper jaw (zygomatic maxillary fracture)
- Flatness of the cheek.
- Altered sensation underneath the eye on the affected side.
- Problems with eyesight.
- Pain with jaw movement.
What happens if the zygomatic bone is damaged?
Patients may develop trismus (i.e. the inability to fully open the mouth) and have difficulty with chewing. There may also be bleeding through the nose, which depends on the severity of the injury. The cheekbone of these patients may be flattened due to the malar eminence being depressed.
How serious is an orbital fracture?
Most patients with any form of facial fracture — such as orbital — will experience moderate to severe pain, which needs to be managed. This is due to a relatively high density of sensory pain fibers in the facial and orbital regions, thus making pain symptoms significant.
What are Lefort fractures?
Le Fort I level fractures are essentially a separation of the hard palate from the upper maxilla due to a transverse fracture running through the maxilla and pterygoid plates at a level just above the floor of the nose.
Can a zygomatic fracture heal on its own?
Zygomatic complex fractures with no or minimal displacement are often treated without surgical intervention, whereas fractures with functional or esthetic impairments in the form of diplopia, extraocular muscle entrapment, malocclusion, restricted mouth opening and/or depression of the malar prominence often …
Can a facial fracture heal on its own?
Often a facial fracture may be left to heal on its own. No treatment may be necessary if the broken bone stays in normal position, but injuries causing severe fractures may need to be surgically repaired.
Can a orbital fracture heal on its own?
Some orbital wall fractures heal on their own, while others require surgery. Your doctor will discuss which treatment is right for you. Two types of surgery are used for orbital wall fractures: Traditional surgery, which requires an open incision.
Is orbital fracture an emergency?
Orbital fractures are a common, potentially vision-threatening presentation to an emergency department. Appropriate early management and referral by the emergency medicine practitioner has a significant role in preventing cosmetic and functional sequelae of orbital trauma.
What causes LeFort fractures?
LeFort fractures most frequently result from high-speed deceleration crashes in which the midface or maxilla strike a stationary object (dashboard, pavement). These injuries may also be produced by striking the face with a rigid object (tire iron, baseball bat).
How is a LeFort fracture treated?
Treatment of a Le Fort fracture usually requires prompt stabilization of the fracture followed by surgery, in order to restore the typical facial orientation, re-establish proper positioning of the teeth, restore involved sinus cavities, and reunify the nose and eye socket.