A five-year retrospective evaluation of maxillofacial trauma cases examined in the forensic medicine outpatient clinic

Maxillofacial trauma represents a significant portion of forensic evaluations in outpatient clinics. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the demographic characteristics, etiological factors, injury patterns, and medicolegal outcomes of maxillofacial trauma cases admitted to the Forensic Medicine Outpatient Clinic of Ordu Training and Research Hospital between 2018 and 2023. A total of 699 forensic cases were analyzed. The majority of patients were male (77.3%) with a mean age of 35.7±16.6 years. Most commonly reported causes were physical assault (53.2%), domestic violence (17.2%) and traffic accidents (14.7%). The most common soft tissue injuries were ecchymosis (45.1%) and abrasions (44.9%). The most common bone fracture was the nasal fracture 63.3%. Multiple fractures were detected in 20.3% of patients. A statistically significant relationship was identified between physical assault and both nasal and multiple bone fractures (p<0.01). Life-threatening injuries were documented in 2.3% of patients. Permanent facial scarring was noted in 2.0% of cases, and organ loss was reported in 1.2%. These findings reveal that measures against interpersonal violence in particular need to be increased.