Current Neurobiology Volume 1 Issue 1 51 Current Neurobiology 2010; 1 (1): 51-54 Neurosensory deficit in cases of zygomatic complex fractures S.S. Ahmed*, Afshan Bey**, G.S. Hashmi*, S.H. Hashmi* *Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, **Department of Periodontics and Community Dentistry, Dr.Z.A. Dental College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India Abstract Fractures of the maxillofacial skeleton are very common which may not only lead to disfigurement of face, but are also a cause of neurosensory disturbances. Among various injuries, zygomatic complex fractures are next to nasal bone fractures; however, involvement of infraorbital nerve is almost a constant features which is manifested by neurosensory alteration in the areas supplied by this nerve. We performed a clinical study on isolated cases of zygomatic complex fractures and studied the correlation of infraorbital nerve injury to displacement and reduction of bone. The results of our study indicate that in most of the cases neurosensory recovery takes a time of 4 months after reduction. Early surgical intervention may speedup the process of neurosensory recovery. Key words: Zygomatic complx complex fractures, neurosensory deficit, two point discrimination Accepted December 22 2009 Introduction Trauma of facial region frequently involves the soft tissues of facial skeleton including maxilla, mandible, zygomatic complex and nasal bone etc. These injuries may be in the form of isolated injuries or may be associated with injuries of other parts of body. However, among the maxillofacial injuries, zygomatic complex region is the second most commonly injured area of the mid-face, second to injuries of nasal region [1,2] and they compose up to 15% of all facial bone fractures [3,4,5]. The nasal bone injuries are most common in young and middle aged men. With zygomatic complex fractures, injury to infraorbital nerve is inevitable and it accounts for 30-80% of mid-face fractures. Infraorbital nerve injury is manifested by hyperesthesia, hypoesthesia, dysthesia and anaesthesia of the upper lip, cheek, lower eyelid and lateral part of nose and skin of premaxillary region. The incidence of these symptoms varies from 35 to 94% of all the zygomatic complex fractures. The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence of neurosensory alterations due to infraorbital nerve injury in zygomatic complex fractures in Indian patients. Material and Method The patients attending the Out patients Clinic of department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh were requested to participate in the study. Only those patients who presented with clinical findings of unilateral zygomatic complex fracture were included in the study and they signed a consent form to confirm their willingness to participate in the study. The patients suffering from any systemic disease or any previous maxillofacial trauma were excluded from the study. Fractures of the zygomatic complex were diagnosed on the basis of clinical examination and findings were confirmed by radiological examination, which included computed tomography (CT) in which axial and coronal CT scans were taken with 1 mm and 2mm respectively. Fracture displacement was graded as: 0 No displacement 1 Minimal displacement and just palpable 2 Gross and palpable displacement All the cases were examined by same consultant. Evaluation of neurosensory disturbance was done by two pint discrimination test.