Road accidents leading cause of facial trauma in UAE

The main cause of oral and facial trauma in the UAE is road traffic accidents. Contrary to many parts of the world where the incidence of injury from road traffic accidents has decreased, statistics show that road traffic accidents are still the main cause of facial trauma.

While seat belt use is increasingly prevalent in the UAE, the increase in facial trauma caused by road accidents may be attributed to the size of the car or the speed of the vehicles. Incidentally, recent improvement in initial resuscitation procedures at the accident site has resulted in more trauma victims being rescued and bought to the hospital for treatment rather than perishing in the accident.

Oral and facial trauma, as well as updates in maxillofacial reconstruction, oral cancer, microneurosuregery, facial cosmetic and orthognathic surgery will be reviewed at the 2^nd Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Congress to be held at the Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi hotel in Dubai from 1 – 5 May 2011. Organised by Imedex in association with Arab Health, this year’s meeting will provide a number of new features that explore the rapidly reshaping field of oral and maxillofacial surgery.

“A unique type of facial trauma is fall from heights” says Dr Khaled Ghandour, Head of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department, Dubai Health Authority and speaker at the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Congress.  “Although the figures from trauma caused from falls have gone down considerably since 2008 when construction was booming in the UAE, there are still an alarming number of patients seeking treatment for this type of injury.”

Dr Ghandour believes that all trauma should preventable through strict government regulations, increased supervision and enhanced protective equipment on construction sites, as well as public awareness campaigns to encourage protection in society. Dr Ghandour has been a member of the dental examination board for the city of Dubai since 1990 and is a founding member of the Arab Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. He is currently conducting a private audit into the causes of facial trauma in the UAE.

“Treatment for facial trauma in the UAE is very advanced and with the high number of surgery cases treated annually, UAE is one of the leading treatment centres in the world,” Dr Ghandour explains. “Dubai’s Rashid Hospital, which is one of four specialist trauma treatment centres in the UAE, will treat up to 400 facial trauma patients a year requiring surgery or less invasive emergency treatment.”

Other conditions requiring oral and maxillofacial surgery are congenital and birth deformities such as a cleft pallet or cleft lip. This requires secondary and tertiary surgery and many years of intensive treatment to correct the condition. Tumors and oral facial pathology also make up a number of oral surgery cases in the UAE.

“New for this year, the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Congress will provide the opportunity for the presentation of abstracts offering researchers the opportunity to interact with colleagues and share their endeavors with the community,” says Dr Shahrokh C. Bagheri, Chair of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Northside Hospital of Atlanta and the co-Chair of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Congress in Dubai. “We are also providing residents and other young surgeons the opportunity to sit for a mini mock oral exam by the course faculty, to help them prepare for oral Board examinations in oral and maxillofacial surgery.”

For more information regarding the Dubai Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Congress, please call +1 (678) 242 0906 or visit www.dubaiomfs.com.