[image courtesy of Rutgers University – New Brunswick]

Shahid Aziz has spent hours poring over the case histories of World War I soldiers who returned home with disfiguring facial injuries.

“The world had never seen this type of injury on such a large scale,’’ said Aziz, a professor of oral and maxillofacial surgeon at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, who treats many facial trauma patients. “Because this was trench warfare, the head was exposed, and many of the injuries occurred to the face.’’