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Case Reports
. 2013 Jun;6(2):133-6.
doi: 10.1055/s-0033-1333880. Epub 2013 Mar 8.

Blowout fracture in a 3-year-old

Britt I Pluijmers  1 , Maarten J Koudstaal  1 , Dion Paridaens  2 , Karel G H van der Wal  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Blowout fracture in a 3-year-old

Britt I Pluijmers et al. Craniomaxillofac Trauma Reconstr. 2013 Jun.

Abstract

A 3-year-old patient was referred to the oral and maxillofacial department with a fracture of the orbital floor. Due to the lack of clinical symptoms, a conservative approach was chosen. After 3 weeks, an enophthalmos developed. The orbital floor reconstruction was successfully performed through a transconjunctival approach. This case highlights the rarity of pure blowout fractures in young children. The specific presentation and diagnostics of orbital floor fractures in children and the related surgical planning and intervention are discussed.

Keywords: blowout fracture; child; orbital floor; orbital fracture; trauma.

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Conflict of interest statement

Funding Statement This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Competing Interests Statement There are no conflicts of interest in the materials or subject matter dealt with in the manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic view of blow-out trauma in a young child with a blunt object. (A) (Left) Schematic, sagittal, view of the unaffected, incomplete pneumotized maxillary sinus of our patient at age of 3 years and 10 months. The dotted lines indicate the boundaries of the maxillary sinus at age of 20. The green arrow indicates the motion of the force of the ball. (B) (Right) The green arrow indicates the transferred force of the ball. Note the greenstick fracture of the orbital floor, the so-called trapdoor fracture.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Coronal orbital computed tomography scan of our 3-year-old patient after blunt orbital trauma, depicting a right-sided orbital (floor) blowout fracture with herniating orbital contents. Note the small lumen of the maxillary sinus associated with very young age.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Algorithm for the diagnosis and management of the child with possible blowout fracture. Abbreviations: CT, computed tomography; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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