Concurrent hyoid bone fracture associated with multiple facial fractures secondary to assault: Case report and review of literature

Introduction: Hyoid bone fractures are rarely reported as an isolated entity due to the infrequent occurrence accounting for only 0.002% of all head and neck fractures and 1.15 as the highest incidence. Strangulation remains the most common cause of isolated hyoid bone fractures with an incidence of 27–50%. However, blunt trauma, motor vehicle crash, sport related injuries, falls, assaults, and gunshot wounds are additional documented causes of hyoid bone fractures. Case report: A 23-year-old male who was assaulted to the face. He complained of pain to the face and neck, sore throat, dysphagia and changes in speech. The face and neck CT scans revealed multiple facial fractures along with a hyoid bone fracture. Patient was admitted to for observation and close monitoring for airway protection until the mandible and hyoid bone fractures were treated. ORIF of the mandibular fractures took place; we elected to treat the hyoid bone fracture conservatively as it was asymptomatic. The patient's hospital course was unremarkable. Result: 56 articles were reviewed from 1949 to 2017, which revealed that isolated hyoid bone fractures and hyoid bone fractures associated with other facial fractures are very rare. Hyoid bone fractures due to direct trauma, road traffic accidents, falls, assault and gunshot wounds are more common in males than females. However, in strangulation and suicidal hanging, the incidence is higher in females than males. Multiple methods can be used to evaluate the hyoid bone fractures. The majority of hyoid bone fractures are treated conservatively