Flying and midface fractures: the truth is out there.
There are no clear, evidence-based guidelines that dictate when it is safe for a patient to fly after sustaining a midface fracture. From January 2006 to December 2009, the Royal Darwin Hospital Maxillofacial Unit had 48 out of 201 patients with an orbital fracture that involved a paranasal air sinus transported by a variety of aircraft to the unit for definitive management. No orbital complications were recorded for the 24% of patients requiring air travel to our tertiary referral centre. Furthermore, there were no recorded deviations from the standard flight plan. We believe that this demonstrates there are no absolute contraindications to flying on a variety of aircraft with a midface fracture, but clinical assessment remains crucial for an informed decision to transport these patients by air.
['Tan-Gore|E|E|', 'Thanigaivel|R|R|', 'Wilson|B|B|', 'Thomas|A|A|', 'Thomas|M E|ME|']
D064870:Air Travel D001315:Australia D005147:Facial Bones D006801:Humans D009917:Orbital Fractures D010256:Paranasal Sinuses D010360:Patient Transfer D062606:Tertiary Care Centers
flying midface guidelines maxillofacial air travel recommendations trauma