PATTERN OF ASSAULT-RELATED MAXILLOFACIAL INJURIES TREATED AT THE GENERAL HOSPITAL, LAGOS, NIGERIA.

BACKGROUND

The human face often constitutes the first point of contact in various human interactions and it is frequently the preferred target for blows in assault cases.

AIM: To analyze the pattern of assault-related maxillofacial injuries treated at the General Hospital, Lagos over a period of one year.

METHODOLOGY: This is one year prospective study of assault-related maxillofacial injuries treated at the Department of Oral-Maxillofacial Surgery, Dental Centre, General Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria. A face-to-face interviewer-administered structured proforma was used to obtain information from study subjects.

RESULTS

Thirty-three patients with maxillofacial injuries met the inclusion criteria for this study. Their age ranged between 16 and 48 years with a mean age of 28.2 ± 7.4 years. There were 25(75.8%) males and 8(24.2%) females with a male/female ratio of 3:1. Majority of the patients, 24(72.7%) did not have any skilled employment while the remaining 9(27.3%) were road transport workers, specifically commercial bus drivers and motorcycle riders. The most frequently seen soft tissue injury was contusion which accounted for 17(51.5%) cases while 13 (39%) of the patients sustained mandibular fracture which was the most common hard tissue injury.

CONCLUSION

Assault-related maxillofacial injuries are most common amongst young adult males who are not skillfully employed; this can be attributed to the increased disposition to violence in males in our environment.