Broken bones such as combinations of nasal, maxillary, and mandibular fractures can interfere with the airway. Blood from the face or mouth, if swallowed, can cause vomiting, which can itself present a threat to the airway because it has the potential to be aspirated. Since airway problems can occur late after the initial injury, it is necessary for healthcare providers to monitor the airway regularly.Even when facial injuries are not life-threatening, they have the potential to cause disfigurement and disability, with long-term physical and emotional results. Facial injuries can cause problems with eye, nose, or jaw function and can threaten eyesight. As early as 400 BC, Hippocrates is thought to have recorded a relationship between blunt facial trauma and blindness. Injuries involving the eye or eyelid, such as retrobulbar hemorrhage, can threaten eyesight; however, blindness following facial trauma is not common.Incising wounds of the face may involve the parotid duct. This is more likely if the wound crosses a line drawn between the tragus of the ear to the upper lip. The approximate location of the course of the duct is the middle third of this line.Nerves and muscles may be trapped by broken bones; in these cases the bones need to be put back into their proper places quickly. For example, fractures of the orbital floor or medial orbital wall of the eye can entrap the medial rectus or inferior rectus muscles. In facial wounds, tear ducts and nerves of the face may be damaged.
There are several reasons for the lower incidence of facial fractures in children: the face is smaller in relation to the rest of the head, children are less often in some situations associated with facial fractures such as occupational and motor vehicle hazards, there is a lower proportion of cortical bone to cancellous bone in childrens faces, poorly developed sinuses make the bones stronger, and fat pads provide protection for the facial bones.Head and brain injuries are commonly associated with facial trauma, particularly that of the upper face; brain injury occurs in 15–48% of people with maxillofacial trauma. Coexisting injuries can affect treatment of facial trauma; for example they  may be emergent and need to be treated before facial injuries. People with trauma above the level of the collar bones are considered to be at high risk for cervical spine injuries (spinal injuries in the neck) and special precautions must be taken to avoid movement of the spine, which could worsen a spinal injury. References
Cited texts
Jeroukhimov I, Cockburn M, Cohn S (2004). "Facial trauma: Overview of trauma care". In Thaller SR (ed.). Facial trauma. New York, N.Y: Marcel Dekker. ISBN 0-8247-4625-2. Retrieved 2008-10-19. Neuman MI, Eriksson E (2006). "Facial trauma". In Fleisher GR, Ludwig S, Henretig FM (eds.). Textbook of Pediatric Emergency Medicine. Hagerstwon, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN 0-7817-5074-1. Retrieved 2008-10-19. Seyfer AE, Hansen JE (2003). "Facial trauma". In Moore EE, Feliciano DV, Mattox KL (eds.). Trauma. Fifth Edition. McGraw-Hill Professional. pp. 423–24. ISBN 0-07-137069-2.