Need for airbag and seatbelt to reduce orbital injuries from steering wheel knob.
The aims of this study are to report a blowout fracture of the orbital floor and medial wall caused by being struck by a steering wheel knob of an automobile and to discuss the use of airbags and seatbelts as a preventive measure for orbital injuries. A 58-year-old man was struck in the left eye by a steering wheel. His car hit a telephone pole, and he had a frontal collision injury. In this frontal impact, his left eye was hit by a Brodie knob attached to the steering wheel. At the time of injury, the speed of the car was about 65 km/h. He was not wearing a seatbelt, and the airbag had not deployed. Swelling and ecchymosis were observed at the left periorbital area, and he had diplopia on a left-side gaze. A CT revealed fractures in the medial and inferior wall of the left orbit. Entrapped soft tissues were reduced, and the medial wall and floor were reconstructed with a resorbable sheet. His diplopia disappeared 12 days after surgery. To prevent the injury from the steering wheel knob, an airbag should be installed in any vehicle, which has a steering wheel knob. Legislation mandating the use of airbags as well as seatbelts in vehicles with attached steering wheel knobs should be made.
Kun
K
Hwang
Joo Ho
JH
Kim
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control; D017278:Air Bags; D001336:Automobiles; D004172:Diplopia / Q000209:etiology; D004438:Ecchymosis / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009916:Orbital Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D009917:Orbital Fractures / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000601:surgery; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods; D012622:Seat Belts; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods