Craniofacial trauma can include facial fractures of the skull, orbits, nose, and jaw including the mandible accompanied by stellate lacerations. The injuries can cause problems related to vision, smell, bite and chewing, and self-esteem. These are often high impact injuries that require significant precision and skill to appropriately amend the injuries.
Our practice routinely sees professional athletes as it relates to craniofacial trauma. As a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon with years of training in craniofacial, we are equipped to treat facial fractures and complex lacerations. Often, we obtain CT scans with 3D reconstructions to lay out the plan to appropriately rebuild the foundation of the face using state-of-the-art technology and minimally invasive techniques to mitigate scarring. We have served as consultants for various sports including NBA, NFL, MLB, WWE, and MMA. Dr. Patel also serves as one of the commissioners on the Florida Athletic Commission for boxing.
40 year old WWE superstar presents as a tertiary consult for mandible fractures of the symphysis and angle. Patient undergoes double plating (Champy technique) of both fractures preventing the need to wire jaw (maxillomandibular fixation). Patient makes a full return to the ring 3 months after surgery.
45 year old lawyer who lost control while driving his sports car flies out of the window sustaining a frontal sinus fracture that involves the frontal and posterior table of the skull with complex lacerations. He undergoes reconstruction using a mesh, a pericranial flap for cranialization of the frontal sinus and repair of his lacerations. He is shown 3 months out without any issues in terms of neurocognitive function and back to his sports car.
32 year old professional wrestler presents with inability to gaze upward causing vision impairment and blurry vision after sustaining an orbital floor fracture. He goes to the operating room undergoing transconjuctival (inside the eyelid to minimize scarring) to free the eye muscle and a placement of a plate. Two months later he has no issues with vision and back to wrestling.
Dr. Anup Patel is a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon trained in aesthetic, hand/upper extremity and reconstructive surgery. He completed his plastic and reconstructive surgery training at the premier Yale University followed by a hand and microsurgery fellowship at the New York University Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Mount Sinai Department of Orthopedics. Dr. Patel received his MD and MBA from the Yale University School of Medicine and Yale University School of Management, respectively. He graduated as the valedictorian of his class at the University of Florida majoring in economics, biochemistry and molecular genetics and valedictorian of his high-school class at Lake Highland.