Imaging of facial trauma.

Facial trauma is a commonly encountered injury in the emergency department. Facial fractures can be categorized into limited, transfacial, and smash fractures. Limited fractures may involve one or two adjacent facial supporting struts. Transfacial fractures are classically the Le Fort fractures. Smash fractures are comminuted fractures that do not follow classical facial fracture patterns. Depending on the severity of injury, treatment may be conservative or surgical. [figure: see text] Computed tomography is superior to conventional radiography, tomography, and MRI in detecting facial fractures, defining their direction, extent, and displacement.