Orbital fractures
Orbital fractures
The orbita is prone to fractures because of its exposed location in the head. The orbital region consists of the frontal bone, lacrimal bone, zygomatic bone and temporal bone.
These fractures present a special challenge because, in addition to the bony eye socket, associated structures such as the globe or neighboring parts of the nervous system may be involved.
For this reason orbital fractures must be thoroughly examined. Most orbital fractures require a complete examination of the globe and its nervous and vascular supplies.
With fractures of the inner wall of the orbit, the globe or parts of it may be displaced into the maxillary sinus. The frontal, temporal and zygomatic bones are commonly involved in orbital fractures and are typically displaced inwardly.
Similar to fractures of other parts of the facial skull, orbital fractures are often characterized by multiple fragments of various sizes.
3D reconstruction of computed tomographic images of the fracture.
Facial skull fractures
Most trauma to the facial region include large impression fractures with multiple large, but also smaller, fragments that are pushed inward by an external force. Like most head fractures in the horse, facial fractures are usually open and frequently large sections of skin are separated from the bone.
As with fractures of other parts of the skull, the extent of involvement of the facial skull is often underestimated without a thorough radiographic or computed tomographic examination. The surgeons are frequently surprised by the actual extent of the traumatic insult depicted by computed tomography and/or encountered during surgery. The prognosis of facial skull fractures, even large ones, is usually very good because of the abundance of vascular supply to the region and the low physical load most bones encounter during mastication.
Fractures of the facial skull must be examined thoroughly for possible involvement of adjacent structures such as the oral and nasal cavities, sinuses, the orbit, eyes and adnexa, as well as the cerebrum and other parts of the nervous system.
