[Maxillofacial fractures in children].

BACKGROUND: Facial traumas in the younger population involve esthetic and functional matters. According to the international bibliography these problems are due to the fixation technique employed and to a delayed surgical treatment. METHODS: This article contains a list of 68 pediatric facial fractures treated at the Maxillofacial Department of the University of Rome "La Sapienza" including diagnosis and therapy over a period of 16 years (January 1981-October 1997). RESULTS: The results of this research show that the ability to treat such traumas is based on the early and careful identification of the fracture and on the choice of the best therapy to carry out according to the patient's age and with the fracture site pattern. RIF fixation is good to obtain healing in adults, but it may be responsible of disturbances in bone tissues growth. Hence, it was used in selected cases only, in order to avoid bone growth restriction as stressed in international bibliography. CONCLUSIONS: A delayed surgical repair of pediatric facial fractures does not guarantee the return to a correct functionally and to an appropriate esthetic feature.