Application of a surgical navigation system in the rehabilitation of maxillary defects using zygoma implants: report of one case.

In the past few decades, the rehabilitation of maxillary defects has posed a significant challenge for prosthodontists. The advent of zygoma implants presents a unique alternative for maxillary reconstruction while minimizing prosthetic complications. However, the placement of zygoma implants is not without risk. This report describes the application of a special self-developed surgical navigation system, AccuNavi, for the planning and subsequent precise placement of zygoma implants in patients with maxillectomy defects. The superimposition of the preoperative planning and the real placement demonstrated that all of the three zygoma implants were appropriately positioned and oriented. In the phantom experiment, the mean distance and angular deviations were 0.58 ± 0.18 mm and 1.12 ± 0.39 degrees, respectively. This preliminary use of the AccuNavi for the placment of zygomatic implants appears to be a reliable method for transferring the planning of a complex osteotomy to the actual surgical procedure. However, further multicenter clinical evaluations should be conducted to establish the predictability of this surgical technique.