Purpose: To assess the survival rate (SR) and probability of postoperative complications at both the implant and patient level for each of the four surgical techniques for zygomatic implant (ZI) placement: Brånemark, sinus slot, extrasinus, and extramaxillary.
Materials and methods: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis of clinical studies that reported the survival rate and postoperative ZI complications for the rehabilitation of atrophic edentulous maxillae was conducted based on PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) recommendations. Two independent reviewers consulted four databases during the literature search: MEDLINE (PubMed), Google Scholar, Clinicaltrials.gov, and LILACS. Duplicate articles were eliminated.
Results: A total of 35 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Subgroup analysis showed that study design (prospective vs retrospective) had no significant impact (P = .10) on the outcomes. The SR was highest for the Brånemark and extrasinus techniques (100%) and lowest for the sinus slot technique (94%; 95% CI = 86% to 102%). The extramaxillary (38%; 95% CI = 1% to 3%) and the Brånemark (29%; 95% CI = 15% to 44%) techniques resulted in the highest occurrence of patient-level complications. Moreover, the extramaxillary technique showed the highest percentage of prothesis-related complications (44%; 95% CI = 27% to 62%).
Conclusions: ZI placement was demonstrated to be a reliable technique for the rehabilitation of severely atrophic maxillae, irrespective of the surgical technique evaluated. Accurate case and surgical protocol selection is of paramount importance to reduce technique-related postoperative complications.
Keywords: dental implants; maxillary atrophy; surgical technique; survival rate; zygomatic implants.