Surgical complications in zygomatic implants: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The use of zygomatic implants in the prosthetic rehabilitation of the patient with severe maxillary bone atrophy is another therapeutic alternative, not exempt from complications. The main objective of this review is to analyze and describe the most frequent surgical complications associated with the use of zygomatic implants.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: An electronic database search on PubMed, along with a manual search, without taking into account date nor language, was undertaken by two observers, selecting studies that comprised a study period from 6 to 12 months, any type of clinical trial, and series that included a follow-up and/or review period during the aforementioned margin, that mentioned at least two types of complications.

RESULTS: Out of the initial search that yielded 455 studies, 67 were considered potentially relevant for the present study, out of which 14 were finally selected. Out of the most frequent surgical complications, sinusitis (3,9%) and failure in osseointegration (2,44%) are highlighted.

CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of the results shows that the most frequent complications are sinusitis and failure in osseointegration of the zygomatic implant. However, a standardised data collection system for the data on complications is needed.