Abstract

Background: Boxing injuries are well known in hobby boxing as well as in professional boxing. Especially in professional boxing it is of great importance to implement and follow prevention-, diagnosis- and therapy-standards in order to prevent or at least to minimize injuries of the athlete. The utmost aim would be to establish international prevention-, diagnosis- and therapy-standards for boxing injuries in professional boxing. However, this aim is on a short run unrealistic, as there are too many different professional boxing organisations with different regulations. A realistic short term aim would be to develop a national standard in order to unify the management and medical treatment of boxing injuries in professional boxing.
Case Report: We present the management and interdisciplinary treatment of a professional boxer with a bilateral open fracture of the mandible during a middle weight IBF World Championship Fight.
On the basis of this case we want to present and discuss the possibilities of an interdisciplinary and successful medical treatment.
Conclusions: In order to prevent or minimize boxing injuries of professional boxers, annual MRI-Scans of the head and neck have to be performed as prevention standard. Furthermore, neurocognitive tests must be performed on a regular basis. Boxing injuries in professional boxing need an interdisciplinary, unbiased and complex analysis directly at the boxing ring. The treatment of the injuries should be only performed in medical centres and thus under constant parameters. The needed qualifications must be learned in mandatory national licence courses of boxing physicians, referees and promoters.

Keywords: Orthopedic Procedures - methods, Orthopedic Fixation Devices, Mandibular Fractures - surgery, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, International Cooperation, Boxing - standards, athletes, Patient Care Team, Tomography, X-Ray Computed, Wounds and Injuries - prevention & control