Craniofacial Injuries Resulting from Polytrauma: Mechanisms, Imaging, and Complications

Purpose: This literature review aims to identify and analyse the most common mechanisms causing injuries in the craniofacial region their diagnosis and possible sequelae. Methods: The study analysed publications from the Medline database made available in PubMed and Google Scholar considering the following keywords "maxillofacial injuries" and/or "maxillofacial trauma" and/or "maxillofacial fractures". Results: Craniofacial injuries in polytrauma patients are often complicated by their heterogeneous nature and coexistence with other injuries. Their incidence and mechanisms vary depending on the country of investigation. Diagnosis includes advanced imaging techniques such as CT scans. Treatment often requires multidisciplinary collaboration. Conclusions: Craniofacial injuries in polytraumatic patients require a complex diagnostic and therapeutic approach. Interdisciplinary collaboration is crucial to achieve the best clinical outcome. The most common causes include road traffic collisions, assaults, falls and sports-related injuries. Despite properly applied treatment protocols, they generate changes in the stomatognathic system, sensory disturbances, blindness and, in extreme cases, can lead to death