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Intracranial aerocele in facial injury
Author(s) -
Pitt Timothy T. E.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1982.tb124142.x
Subject(s) - medicine , radiological weapon , facial trauma , surgery , traumatic brain injury , tears , antibiotic therapy , meningitis , antibiotics , psychiatry , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
Aspects of intracranial aerocele are described and exemplified by two cases which presented to the Plastic Surgery Unit, Austin Hospital, Melbourne, as radiological findings incidental to facial injury. The first case illustrated the occasional problem of identifying the site of durai tear; a fracture could not be identified on X‐ray film or at operation, and this can make subsequent durai repair more difficult. The second case was associated with florid clinical signs of facial fractures which were supported by X‐ray findings. Both patients underwent surgery for the primary injury, and received prophylactic therapy with antibiotic agents because of the risk of meningitis associated with durai tears. In neither case did intracranial air persist beyond 14 days; therefore, durai repair was not performed. It is important to look for evidence of durai damage when dealing with facial injury either in the casualty or in the subsequent management of the patient.