Journal of oral and maxillofacial surgery : official journal of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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J. Oral Maxillofac. Surg. · Oct 2007
Comparative StudyUtilization of tracheostomy in craniomaxillofacial trauma at a level-1 trauma center.
The decision to perform a tracheostomy on patients with maxillofacial trauma is complex. There is little data exploring the role of tracheostomy in facial fracture management. We sought to profile the utilization of tracheostomy in the context of maxillofacial trauma at our institution by comparing patients who required tracheostomy with and without facial fractures versus those with facial fractures not requiring tracheostomy. ⋯ Tracheostomy is commonly performed in the context of multisystem trauma and is a safe method for airway stabilization in patients with craniomaxillofacial trauma. Multi-institutional collaboration and a prospective, randomized trial measuring outcome, resource utilization, and length of ICU stay is necessary to determine if tracheostomy is indeed of measurable benefit to patients with complex injuries.