Critical Degree of Orbital Floor Displacement Drives Operative Repair of Zygomaticomaxillary Complex Fractures: Findings from a 10-Year Retrospective Study

Abstract

Purpose: Among zygomaticomaxillary complex (ZMC) fractures presenting to a tertiary urban academic center, the authors hypothesized the presence of both clinical and radiographic predictors of operative management. Methods: The investigators implemented a retrospective cohort study of 1914 patients with ZMC fractures managed at an academic medical center in New York City between 2008 – 2017. The predictor variables were based on both clinical data and features of pertinent imaging studies, and the outcome variable was operative intervention. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were computed and the P value was set at .05. Findings: 196 patients sustained ZMC fractures (5.0%) and 121 (61.7%) ZMC fractures were treated surgically. All patients who presented with globe injury, blindness, retrobulbar injury, restricted gaze, or enophthalmos and a concurrent ZMC fracture were managed surgically. The most common surgical approach was the gingivobuccal corridor (31.9% of all approaches) and there were no significant immediate postoperative complications. Younger patients (38.9 + 18 years vs. 56.1 + 23.5 years, p<0.0001), patients with greater than or equal to 4mm of orbital floor displacement were more likely to receive surgical treatment than observation (82 vs. 56%, p=0.045), as were patients with comminuted orbital floor fractures (52 vs. 26%, p=0.011). Conclusion: In this cohort, patients more likely to undergo surgical reduction were young patients with ophthalmologic symptoms on presentation and at least 4mm displacement of the orbital floor. Low kinetic energy ZMC fractures may warrant surgical management as often as high energy ZMC fractures. While orbital floor comminution has been shown to be a predictor for operative reduction, in this study we also demonstrated a difference in rate of reduction based upon severity of orbital floor displacement. This may have significant implications in both the triage and selection of patients most suitable for operative repair.