Self-curing Acrylic in the Treatment of Unstable Zygomatic Arch Fracture

Abstract

Isolated and delayed zygomatic arch fracture presents as a depression on the side of the face. The majority of zygomatic arch fractures are stable when reduced because of interdigitation of the bone ends and because the fragments are held in a vertical plane by the temporal fascia above and by the masseter muscle below. Occasionally, however, arch fractures are unstable and require active fixation. A case is described in which circumferential wires tied over a self-curing acrylic bow on the face were used for the fixation of a delayed zygomatic arch fracture.