SOFT TISSUE INJURIES OF THE FACE: EARLY AESTHETIC RECONSTRUCTION IN POLY TRAUMA PATIENTS

Abstract

INTRODUCTION One of the most challenging and common problem faced by the plastic surgeons in polytrauma ward are Facial Soft tissue injuries, which can be completely isolated or be in combination with other injuries .The face consists of several organs and aesthetic units. The nal outcome depends on initial wound care and primary repair. So one should know the “do's and don'ts”. Disgurement following trauma, becomes a social stigma and has the gross detrimental effect on the personality and future of the victim. Therefore, such cases are most appropriately managed by Plastic Surgeons who have a thorough knowledge of applied anatomy, an aesthetic sense and meticulous atraumatic tissue handling expertise, coupled with surgical skill to repair all the composite structures simultaneously. METHOD This study is conducted in the department of Plastic and Reconstructive surgery, SMS Medical College & Hospital Jaipur India from January 2019 to December 2020. 50 patients with history of facial soft tissue injuries who were admitted in the polytrauma ward are included in the study. RESULTS Seventy-ve percent of the facial injuries were repaired primarily and the remainder were reconstructed with skin grafts or local aps from adjacent tissues. We had no post-operative infection, hematoma, ischemia, or necrosis in our patients and the patients were satised after the operation. CONCLUSION The study concludes that Primary reconstruction should be the mainstay of management and the most important responsibility of the surgeon is to convert the contaminated wound to a clean one and then to perform reconstruction.