NHS practice · Homerton University Hospital, London GMC 7014473 · GMC Specialist Register: Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery · FRCS (OMFS), Royal College of Surgeons of England

Patient guides

Conditions and procedures

Choose a topic to read what is involved. These guides are general – at your consultation Will explains how each point applies to you, and you will receive written information to take home.

Trauma

Facial fractures

Breaks of the lower jaw, cheekbone or eye socket can affect the bite, vision and facial shape. Some heal well without surgery; others need the bones repositioned and fixed.

Who it may help

  • A broken lower jaw, especially if the teeth no longer meet
  • A flattened or displaced cheekbone
  • An eye-socket fracture causing double vision or a sunken eye

Recovery

Expect a soft diet for about six weeks after a jaw fracture and to avoid contact sport for six to eight weeks. After cheekbone or eye-socket fractures you will be asked not to blow your nose for some weeks.

What is involved

A CT scan shows the fracture in detail. If surgery is needed it is under general anaesthetic: the bones are put back in position and held with small titanium plates. Incisions are placed inside the mouth or in hidden skin creases wherever possible. Eye-socket fractures may be repaired with a titanium mesh or a patient-specific implant designed from your scan.

Risks and side effects

All surgery carries some risk. The main ones for this treatment are listed below; your own risk depends on your health and the details of your operation.

  • Infection or plate problems, sometimes needing removal
  • Numbness of the cheek, lip or chin
  • A change in bite or facial asymmetry
  • Double vision after eye-socket injury or repair; very rarely, harm to vision

Alternatives

Fractures that are not displaced, or that do not affect the bite or vision, are often managed with a soft diet, pain relief and close review.

Guidance and standards

If you notice loss of vision, increasing eye pain or swelling after a facial injury, call 999 or go to an emergency department. Will has audited time-to-theatre for jaw fractures to help patients have surgery promptly.

Questions worth asking at your appointment

  • Benefits – what will this treatment do for me?
  • Risks – what could go wrong, and how likely is it for me?
  • Alternatives – what other options are there?
  • Nothing – what happens if I wait, or decide not to have treatment?

Based on the Choosing Wisely UK BRAN questions.

How to be referred Written and reviewed by Mr Will Rodgers, Consultant Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon (GMC 7014473) · Last reviewed November 2026 · next review November 2027