PATTERNS OF MAXILLOFACIAL INJURIES IN UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL ‘St. ANNA’, SOFIA.

Purpose: To compare the etiology, presentation, type of trauma in Department of maxillofacial surgery, University Hospital ‘St. Anna’, Sofia over a period of 4 years. Materials and methods: During the period of from 01. 05. 2005 - 31. 01. 2009 276 patients with maxillofacial injuries were identified from Department of maxillofacial surgery, University Hospital St. Anna, Sofia. Patients were grouped into the following categories: age, gender, etiologies, soft tissues injuries, type and location of fracture and associated injuries. Results: There were a total of 276 patients. Of these 216 were male and 60 were female with the mean age of 10-85 years. A total 216 bone fractures were identified. Of these 49 were zygomatic complex fractures, 15 orbital blow out fractures, 70 mandible fractures, 66 nasal complex fractures. There was increase in the number of nasal and mandible fractures over the 4 years period. The most common cause of injury was assault followed by road traffic accident. We will present a detailed analysis of other patterns of injuries.Conclusion: The changing pattern of trauma has several implications for injury prevention as well as surgical training. Our study highlights the areas which will require further focus in any future local health strategy.