The zygoma is located in the medial and lateral parts of the face, supporting the midfacial contour. The forward projection of the zygoma and the zygomatic arch often expose them to injury. Fractures of the zygoma can lead to the displacement of the zygoma and the zygomatic arch, causing facial collapse deformity. For delayed zygomatic fractures, the loss of normal anatomical landmarks caused by the malunion of the fracture lines and remodelling of the bony contour makes it difficult to determine the correct positions of the zygomatic bones. In such cases, ideal and steady outcomes with satisfactory midface symmetry have been difficult to obtain using traditional surgical methods. Nowadays, the application of digital surgical software and surgical navigation helps surgeons to perform accurate preoperative simulations to obtain ideal three-dimensional virtual surgical plans and achieve accurate reduction by intraoperative navigation systems, which increase the accuracy and predictability of fracture reduction outcomes. Experts from the Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Chinese Stomatological Association have fully discussed and formulated an expert consensus on navigation-guided unilateral delayed zygomatic fracture reconstruction techniques to standardise the clinical operation procedures and promote the application.
Keywords: delayed zygomatic fractures; digital navigation; unilateral.