Correction of prominent zygomata by tripod osteotomy of the malar bone

Reduction of the prominent zygomata is occasionally required in aesthetic surgery in Oriental patients. Two approaches to surgical exposure are commonly used; one is oral and the other is coronal. In addition, there are two basic surgical concepts of reduction malar-bone plasty; one is thinning and chiseling the prominent area, and the other is mobilizing the prominent zygoma by osteotomy of the zygomata. We devised a new tripod osteotomy of the zygomata by the coronal exposure approach and applied it to correct prominent zygomata in association with frontoperiorbital lifting in Oriental patients. Satisfactory results were obtained and we concluded that this was an effective procedure to correct prominent zygomata for elderly Oriental patients.