Management of maxillofacial injuries in the Iran-Iraq War.

PURPOSE: This study discusses types of maxillofacial injury, their treatment, and complications encountered in the Iran-Iraq war.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

During 1981 to 1986, 210 casualties were treated with 250 operations in Mostafa-Khomeini hospital in Tehran. Their records were analyzed retrospectively. The operations were mostly reconstructive and consisted of methods adopted because of available instruments of that time.

RESULTS

Mandibular defects were the most prominent kind of injury (43.2%), and approximately two thirds of them needed tracheostomy. Ophthalmic injuries represented 20% of midfacial injuries. Osteomyelitis was a common complication of primary phases of treatment.

CONCLUSION

The inability to evacuate and promptly treat patients with gunshot wounds can result in complications, especially infections, that make the later phases of treatment difficult.