Penetrating injuries of the face.

We reviewed 78 consecutive cases of penetrating facial injuries treated at Ben Taub General Hospital in Houston, Texas, between 1992 and 1994, and we analyzed injury patterns on the basis of (1) the mechanism of injury, and (2) the entry zone of the wounds. We found that gunshot wounds were more likely to require emergent airway establishment than shotgun wounds or stab wounds (p = 0.03). We noted a higher prevalence of globe injury among shotgun wounds than among gunshot wounds (p = 0.02). Nine (12%) patients had intracranial penetration of a bullet or shotgun pellet. Patients with gunshot wounds required open reduction and internal fixation of facial bone fractures more frequently than patients with shotgun wounds (p = 0.01). Thirty patients underwent arteriograms, and 10 demonstrated positive findings. Although there were only 3 deaths in our series, 29 (37%) patients overall had some complication caused by their penetrating facial trauma, including blindness in 12 patients. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of complications between gunshot, shotgun, and stab wounds (p = 0.18). With these injury patterns in mind, we describe an algorithm for evaluation and management of penetrating injuries of the face.