Pediatric facial fractures

Abstract

The treatment of pediatric facial fractures can be challenging, stimulating, and occasionally frustrating, especially for those practitioners who only rarely manage these injuries. Difficulties arise from the fact that unlike their adult counterparts, no standardized protocols exist for the management of pediatric facial fractures; there are only broad guidelines and rare case reports. When evaluating a pediatric facial trauma patient, it should be remembered that the same fracture pattern will rarely be seen in a 5-month-old, a 5-year-old, and a 15-year-old due to the inherent differences in craniofacial anatomy, craniofacial proportions, and mechanism of injury. Even if a similar fracture pattern were observed, the treatment for patients of different ages would vary. The differences in craniofacial anatomy, patterns of injury, and capacity for remodeling and future growth must all be considered when determining a specific treatment option. It is paramount to remember that the pediatric patient is not just a small adult. Even with similarly aged patients and fracture patterns, the treatment plan must take into account patient and parent compliance and stage of dentition in that particular child.