Airbags and wearing seat belts prevent cut-crush injuries or reduce severity of injury in low-speed traffic accidents

Abstract. Cut-crush injury is a transverse or an oblique laceration of the face, accompanied by a crush of the nearby structures such as orbits, nose, and maxillofacial bones, and is usually caused by striking the face against a semi-sharp margin such as a dashboard. This report presents 20 patients with cut-crush maxillofacial injuries. The etiology and treatment of the injuries and their outcome will be discussed. The leading cause was traffic accidents occurring at low speeds in which safety belts were not used, and the majority of the fractures were in the midface region. The aim of this paper is to present treatment of cut-crush injuries and to emphasize the importance of wearing seat belts and using airbags.