Management of isolated orbital floor blow-out fractures: a survey of Australian and New Zealand oral and maxillofacial surgeons.
BACKGROUND
This is the first report of involvement of Australian and New Zealand oral and maxillofacial surgeons in the management of isolated orbital floor blow-out fractures and was conducted to obtain comparisons with the results from a recent similar survey of British oral and maxillofacial surgeons.


METHODS
A questionnaire survey was sent to all 113 practising members of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons in April 2002 with a second mailout 1 month later.


RESULTS
Sixty-nine per cent of the respondents were referred isolated orbital floor blow-out fractures for management, and just over half of these respondents estimated that 50% or more of the cases went to surgery. The materials most commonly used in orbital floor reconstruction were resorbable membrane for small defects and autologous bone for large defects.


CONCLUSIONS
As in Britain, management of isolated orbital floor blow-out fractures comprises part of the surgical spectrum for many oral and maxillofacial surgeons in Australia and New Zealand. The management protocol was observed to be very similar between the two groups.
Lynham
Anthony J
AJ
Maxillofacial Unit, Royal Brisbane Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. a.lynham@uq.edu.au
Chapman
Patrick J
PJ
Monsour
Frank N T
FN
Snape
Leslie
L
Courtney
David J
DJ
Heggie
Andrew A
AA
Jones
Robert H
RH
McKellar
Geoffrey M
GM
D020341:Absorbable Implants; D001315:Australia; D016025:Bone Transplantation; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D009520:New Zealand; D019647:Oral Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D009917:Orbital Fractures / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D012955:Societies, Medical; D013515:Surgery, Oral / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous