LE FORT FRACTURES

Course overview

LE FORT INJURIES ARE COMPLEX FRACTURES OF THE MIDFACE, NAMED AFTER RENE LE FORT WHO STUDIED CADAVER SKULLS THAT WERE SUBJECTED TO BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA. HIS EXPERIMENTS DETERMINED THE AREAS OF STRUCTURAL WEAKNESS OF THE MAXILLA DESIGNATED AS "LINES OF WEAKNESS" WHERE FRACTURES OCCURRED. THESE FRACTURES ARE CLASSIFIED INTO THREE DISTINCT GROUPS BASED ON THE DIRECTION OF THE FRACTURE: HORIZONTAL, PYRAMIDAL OR TRANSVERSE. THE PTERYGOID PLATE IS INVOLVED IN ALL TYPES OF LE FORT FRACTURES. THIS MAY RESULT IN A PTERYGOMAXILLARY SEPARATION. THE ABSENCE OF A PTERYGOID FRACTURE RULES OUT A LE FORT FRACTURE. HOWEVER, THE PRESENCE OF A PTERYGOID FRACTURE DOES NOT SPECIFICALLY INDICATE WHETHER A LE FORT FRACTURE EXISTS. UP TO ONE-THIRD OF PTERYGOID PLATE FRACTURES DO NOT RESULT FROM A LE FORT FRACTURE PATTERN. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE ETIOLOGY, PRESENTATION, EVALUATION, AND MANAGEMENT OF LE FORT FRACTURES AND REVIEWS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN EVALUATING, DIAGNOSING, AND MANAGING THE CONDITION.