The Admissions Officer will ask you to come to a named ward at a set time, usually at 7.30am on the morning of your operation.

Please arrive on time. If you do not arrive on the ward on time, we may cancel your operation.

We will ask you to come to the pre-assessment clinic for some screening tests. These include MRSA screening, taking a blood sample and checking your blood pressure, height and weight.

We may also ask you to come to an appointment in the orthoptics department. This is so we can check and note your eye movements and sight before any surgery.

We will give you an appointment to see a Consultant in the Maxillofacial Trauma Clinic. This appointment is usually five to seven days after you injured yourself.

They will decide if you need an operation to mend the break and agree a date with you for surgery. This will be about two weeks after the injury, to give the swelling in your face time to go down.

All cheekbone breaks also lead to a break in the floor of your eye socket and we sometimes need to treat this as well.

You will have a general anaesthetic for your surgery so you will be completely asleep.

If the fracture has not been dislocated or is only slightly dislocated, you may not need surgery.

You will come into the Maxillofacial Trauma Clinic at the Charles Clifford Dental Hospital for check-ups and we will ask you to contact us if your symptoms get worse.

Straight after a general anaesthetic, you may feel tired, dizzy or weak. You must have someone to collect you and stay with you for the first 24 hours.

During the first 24 hours you must not:

• Drive or operate any motorised vehicle or electrical equipment
• Sign any legal documents or make important decisions
• Drink alcohol

You may feel weak or dizzy at times during the first seven to ten days. If this happens, sit down until the feeling passes.

You may also have the “post-operative blues”, though this should soon pass.

Scarring

Any cuts made on your face will leave scars, but these should fade and be difficult to see after a few months.

Bruised nerve

The nerve that runs through your cheekbone supplies feeling to your cheek, side of your nose and upper lip. You might feel some tingling or numbness over your face if this nerve was bruised when you broke your cheekbone or during your operation. The numbness usually goes away on its own, but this can take a few months.

Bleeding from the cuts inside your mouth

This is not usually a problem, but if it happens you should be able to stop it by pressing against the wound with a rolled-up handkerchief or a swab for at least 10 minutes.

Drooping eyelid

If a cut is made in the skin of your lower eyelid, the outer corner of the lid may sometimes be pulled down slightly. This is called lower lid malposition or ectropion. This usually settles on its own but you may need further surgery.

Bleeding in and around your eye socket

This can affect your eyesight straight after surgery. We will monitor you closely for the first few hours to make sure that, if this happens, we pick it up quickly.

If your sight or pain gets worse when you get home, come back to the hospital immediately.

Infection

This is rare because we give you antibiotics. You also have a good blood supply to your face which makes infections less likely.

• It relieves pain
• You heal better and faster
• It improves the shape of your cheekbone and the position of your eye
• It may help correct any double vision and improve any restriction when you open your mouth
• It reduces the risk of infection

You have broken your cheekbone (Zygoma) and/or eye socket (Orbit). Your cheekbone is part of your eye socket. It protects your eyeball and supports it from below. It is also linked to the side of your nose and your upper jaw.

If your nose bleeds, simply wipe the blood away with a tissue. Do not blow your nose as this can cause swelling and an infection in and around your eye.