tripod fracture
tri·pod frac·ture
tripod fracture
A popular term for a fracture that is actually a combination of four (not three, as the name implies) fractures:(1) Maxillary sinus, with the involvement of the anterior and postero lateral walls and floor of the orbit;
(2) Zygomatic arch;
(3) Lateral orbital rim and orbital wall;
(4) At the suture between sphenoid and the zygomatic bones.
Aetiology
Lateral blunt force trauma to the malar region.
Clinical findings
Trismus, diplopia, loss of sensation in areas supplied by facial nerve, flattened malar eminence, bruising and oedema of the face, epistaxis.