Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Zygomaticomaxillary Fracture Repair Outcomes 

Buttar AS, Oztek A, Lu GN. Ophthalmologic Outcomes in Zygomaticomaxillary Fracture Repair With and Without Orbital Floor Repair. Facial Plastic Surgery and Aesthetic Medicine. March 2023. [Article Link]

Zygomaticomaxillary Complex Fracture? Study Finds No Opthalmologic Harm in Deferring Orbital Floor Fracture Repair

Zygomaticomaxillary complex (ZMC) fractures include fractures of the orbital floor (OF); however, few studies have shown the benefits and risks associated with the repair of OF fractures in the setting of ZMC fractures. This study aimed to determine ophthalmologic outcomes of ZMC fracture repair with and without concurrent OF fracture repair. 61 patients (32 ZMC and OF repair, 29 ZMC repair-only) were retrospectively reviewed. Postoperative diplopia was present in eight patients in the OF repair group compared to zero in the ZMC repair-only group (P<0.05). However, there was also a statistically significant increase in the OF fracture size, displacement in the coronal plane, and malar eminence displacement (P<0.05). Overall, the authors concluded that there were no significant differences in short-term ophthalmologic outcomes based on concurrent OF repair during ZMF repair, when taking the size of the OF fractures into account. Thus, this study demonstrates that deferring OF repair during ZMC fracture repair is not associated with worse ophthalmologic outcomes. 

Alyssa Reese’s Takeaway: This study demonstrates that deferring OF repair during ZMC fracture repair is not associated with worse ophthalmologic outcomes. An interesting discussion point in this study was the increased frequency of OF repair in females. While the low sample size of this study may have skewed the gender distribution, it may be interesting to investigate if there is a bias for OF repair in females and the reasons for this bias.