Introduction
Malevez C, Abarca Met al. Clin Oral Impl Res2004; 15: 18–22
Extreme maxillary atrophy presents difficulties for implant placement; these are sometimes solved with various bone grafting or augmentation techniques, from which there is sometimes significant morbidity. Zygomatic implantation is sometimes a possible alternative, and 55 patients in this study were provided with 103 such fixtures under GA along with 194 standard implants in the anterior maxilla.
Following fixed prosthesis placement, 16 standard implants were lost in 7 patients, leading to removable prostheses in 3 cases. No zygomatic implants were lost. There were minor problems after surgery (1 event) and prosthesis placement (8), including 5 cases of sinusitis which appeared unconnected to the zygomatic implants. The authors note that application of the usual success criteria is not possible for these implants, and report survival rates. For instance, 34 such implants were followed up for more than 2 yrs without loss.
