MEDICO-LEGAL AND TRAUMATOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF ORBITAL FRACTURES: A CASE REPORT

Orbital fractures account for 10-25% of all facial fractures. The etiology of such injuries can be traced to: acts of violence (36%), motor vehicle accidents (32%), falls (18%), sports injuries (11%), occupational accidents (3%) and gunshot wounds (2%). In 30% of cases, orbital fractures are associated with intraocular complications, 11-15% of which are serious ophthalmic emergencies that may cause reduced visual acuity. In this paper, we report the case of a motorcyclist who was treated for complex facial fractures (orbital, sphenoid, ethmoid and zygomaticomaxillary complex fractures involving the mastoid air cells and nasal conchae as well as the septum, nasal fractures and fractures in the pterygoid plates). After an initial diagnostic assessment, the doctors determined that the most critical damage was caused by the trauma inflicted to the left orbital walls. An open reduction was therefore carried out on this injury about a month later. The trauma had caused. on the one hand, a marked alteration of the patient's facial appearance, and on the other hand, at a functional level, the onset of diplopia. This article analyses the long-term effects of orbital fractures on the patients' physical fitness, considering the specific experience from the clinical case reported.