title: Maxillofacial injuries in western Iran: a prospective study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although the epidemiology of facial injuries has been studied in many populations, there is a paucity of information in the literature in this relation in the Middle East including Iran. The aim of this study was to assess the epidemiology and mode of treatment of facial injuries in western Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined all patients with a maxillofacial injury who presented to the outpatient department or who were hospitalized in the Besat Hospital of Hamedan City, Iran, between 20 December 2007 and 20 December 2009.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 2,450 patients (77% male, 23% female) with a facial injury, 90% sustained soft tissue injuries and 37% had bone fractures. Motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) were the most common cause of injuries (35%). The most frequent bone fracture occurred in the nasal bone (63.4%). The incidence of associated injuries was 8.3% (mostly orthopedic). Rigid internal fixation was the main treatment of facial fractures. Malpositioned zygomas and functional and aesthetic problems after reconstruction of nasal-orbital-ethmoid injuries were the most common postoperative complications.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although in many countries the rate of facial injuries due to traffic accidents is decreasing, MVA is still the major cause of facial trauma in Iran. This may be due to the lack of enforcement of traffic laws by police and insufficient compliance of the population in obeying traffic rules. Rigid internal fixation was the most common mode of treatment of facial fractures, and in spite of the severity of facial injuries, the rate of postoperative complications was relatively low.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Hamedan University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Fahmideh Street, Hamedan, Iran. zandi88m@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zandi
authors.forename: Adell
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khayati
authors.forename: Arash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lamei
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zarei
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005593:Fracture Fixation, Internal; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008446:Maxillofacial Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000453:epidemiology; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012887:Skull Fractures / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D055815:Young Adult