Can Broken Zygoma Bone Be Fixed?

A broken or misplaced zygoma can be corrected with osteotomy and repositioning. Sometimes, fillers can mask the deficit to achieve symmetry. Best, Dr. Karamanoukian

A broken facial bone that has "healed" into a poor position can be difficult to fix.  Options are as follows:


Use of facial fillers to balance facial asymmetry

Use of alloplastic implants to balance facial asymmetry

Formal osteotomies are re-plating of fracture 

When the zygoma breaks, it alters a few critical facial structures that effect cheek projection, eyeball position and facial width. Fixing an old zygoma fracture (or one that was repaired incorrectly the first time around) can be difficult. You've got two options- if your eyeball position is okay, then your cheek projection and facial width can be restored with bone grafts or an alloplastic implant. The other option is to osteotomize the zygoma and rotate it back into position and fixate it with plates and screws.

We see many patients with old facial injuries. I have recently corrected several old deformities that have failed correction with injections, and facial implants. I use a technique that involves your own rib cartilage and other tissues in your body. 

This can be an extremely difficult and challenging problem and nearly impossible to correct completely. You should seek evaluation by a craniofacial surgeon to discuss your options for management

It is very difficult to repair a zygoma bone after it is healed in a new position. You have to address the question;
what is it that you are trying to accomplish?
If you just want a prominent cheek bone then use a filler or a cheek or zygoma implant. It is a lot less risky than trying to fix an old zygoma fracture.
If it is only a zygomatic arch fracture then may be it can be fixed. However, if the orbit is involved it can be dangerous as moving the bones and breaking them can cause a bleed inside the orbit and jeopardize your vision. Proceed with caution.
Regards

Correcting a previously displace zygoma can be difficult. It would have to be broken again in a process called osteotomies to bring the bone back out. This can create a lot of swelling and nerve weakness which are significant risks of the procedure. A better alternative is an implant placed through the mouth. Other alternatives that I have found that work well to correct the cosmetic disparity if there is no functional component include injections of Sculptra which is an excellent volumizing injectable filler that I have seen last three years or more in post-traumatic facial defects. It can be safely done by injections and relies on your body's own collagen to fill in the depressions. I hope this information helps.

Yes, a zygoma that was fractured and now has healed in an abnormal position can be fixed. It requires one of two approaches. The first would be to leave the zygoma in its current position and use grafts or implants to build up the zygoma and eyesocket (if involved). Bones grafts that are your own are usually best obtained from your skull. The second appraoch requires recreation of the fracture pattern of the zygoma to reposition it and reserved for severely displaced healed zygoma fractures. Additionally, this approach may also require bone grafts.
Both treatments are major operations. The first step should involve consultation with a surgeon with ample experience with this procedure.

Thanks for your question.The short answer is that your zygoma can be put into a better position without the use of an implant but it is a bit of an ordeal and you will need plates and screws to hold the bones in place. You will need a CT scan so your surgeon can see what bones are out of place and make a plan as to how to get them back into place. The procedure involves performing ostetomies (cutting the bone) usually along the lines of the old fracture. The bones are then manoeuvred into their proper position and held in place with plates and screws.I hope this helps and good luck with your treatment.

Zygomatic fractures rotate down and inward resulting in a cheek deficiency and an orbital lowering if left unrepaired. Depending upon the extent of the bone displacement, the zygomatic complex can be re-fractured (osteotomized) and reposiitoned back to its pre-injury position long after the bone has healed. This is done through an intraoral and lower eyelid incisions. Based on how much zygomatic movement needs to be done, a bone graft may also be needed.