Treatment of zygomatic fractures: a follow-up study of 105 patients.

One hundred and five patients with zygomatic fractures are presented. The main cause of the fracture was violence, followed by traffic accidents, fall and sport. In more than 25% of the cases, the fractures were accompanied by another fracture of the facial skeleton, viz maxillary, mandibular and nasal fractures. In severe cases of traffic accidents there were associated fractures in more than half of the cases. The follow-up study showed visible asymmetry of the face in 17 patients and sensory disturbances in 37 patients. We did not find the X-ray subdivision by Knight & North useful in the evaluation of the stability of the fractures. As a method of choice in cases of dislocated zygomatic fractures, we used reposition by the method of Gillies and in cases of instability this reposition was combined with internal wiring, reconstruction of the orbital floor and antral packing. An active attitude towards reconstruction of the orbital floor is recommended.