Operative management of 194 cases of combined maxillofacial-frontobasal fractures: principles and surgical modifications.

The treatment modalities and results of 346 cases of frontobasal and midface fractures, 194 of which had to be managed by surgery, are reported, and the operative results are evaluated. The importance of an early one-stage operative repair of combined frontobasal-maxillofacial fractures is stressed. The indications for the pure transethmoidal, combined transethmoidal-transfrontal, and single neurosurgical handling of these patients are analyzed. Important surgical modifications that are decisive in the operative management of these fractures are described.