PATTERNS OF MAXILLOFACIAL INJURIES IN RESTRAINED MOTOR VEHICLE CRASH VICTIMS

This study was performed to examine the ability of safety belts to prevent and alter the pattern of maxillofacial injuries. During a 6-month period, 613 crash victims presented alive to the Trauma Center at the University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville and were entered into this study. There were 254 restrained victims, 290 unrestrained, and 69 who were excluded for lack of data. The details of the study are described and the results are discussed. The study concluded that safety belts are an effective means of preventing soft-tissue injuries of the face and skeletal injuries of the mid and upper face in motor vehicle crash victims. However, as currently designed safety belts did not prevent mandibular fractures in the restrained patients in this study. These results support both the use of safety restraints as an effective method of injury reduction and suggest the need for improved safety belt design.