Facial Trauma

Renata S. Maricevich, MD

Tuan A. Truong, MD

Facial injuries are very common presentations to the emergency department and can be challenging for plastic surgeons. From a small laceration on a child to a panfacial fracture, or a nondisplaced orbital fracture to a complex soft tissue defect, there is a significant impact on patients, physically and emotionally. It is very important to have a thorough initial assessment, with the patient potentially evaluated by a multispecialty team. The treatment of facial trauma is first focused on the threat to life; the secondary considerations are function and aesthetics.

As Guest Editors, our objectives in this issue of Seminars in Plastic Surgery were to provide an updated scientific overview of the evaluation of the facial trauma patient, as well as the principles and management of their conditions. We endeavored to cover a variety of relevant topics, including an article dedicated to the pediatric population.

We would like to thank our invited authors for their input and hard work. We hope that our readers, students and trainees, as well as plastic surgeons, learn—and enjoy—the current literature on this broad topic of facial trauma, and apply their new knowledge to their practices to improve their patients' care.