2011 Volume 60 Issue 4 Pages 325-329
Displaced zygomatic arch fractures are usually indicated for surgical intervention. Since isolated zygomatic arch fractures are generally treated using blind methods, it is difficult to clinically assess the precise repositioning of the fracture fragments.
We present a C-arm technique for visualizing isolated zygomatic arch fracture reduction intraoperatively in 7 cases from July 2006 to June 2009. The patients without cervical cord injuries were positioned supine with their neck extended slightly on the operating room table. The C-arm was placed such that the patient's head lay between the X-ray tube and the image intensifier along the cephalocaudal axis. The fractures were percutaneously reduced using a hook; the hook was manipulated under imaging to position fractured fragments for an ideal shape of the zygomatic arch. The outcome of reduction was satisfactory due to excellent reduction in 4 cases and good reduction in 3 cases without fair or poor reduction. Although confirmation of these outcomes requires a clinical comparative study, intraoperative use of the C-arm imaging system for displaying dynamic bone reduction contributes to prevent the small percentage of unsatisfactory outcomes in isolated zygomatic arch fractures.
