6th ZAGA Live Training: Expertise from Real Cases
- Laura Estallo
The 6th ZAGA Live Training ran from 17 to 20 March 2025 at Blanc Hospital in São Paulo. Dr. André Sakima and Dr. Jan Peter Ilg of ZAGA Center São Paulo taught it. The format is the one that has worked since the first edition: a day of planning, two days of surgery on real patients with a mentor at the table, and a day on complications and follow-up.
The next editions of the live patient zygomatic implant training are listed on the course page.
Four days, in order
What separates this course from a cadaver course is simple. The patients are real, the surgeries are real, and the participant is the one holding the handpiece. The mentors supervise every step without taking over.
Sunday evening was a welcome cocktail, where the group met each other and the mentors for the first time.
Monday was planning and theory: an introduction to zygomatic implantology and the ZAGA Concept, the surgical technique step by step, and hands-on practice on prototypes of the actual patients, printed by Dental 3D Models.
Tuesday and Wednesday were surgery days. Each procedure started on the patient’s prototype and then moved to the operating room, with the mentors guiding the osteotomy, the trajectory and the prosthetic decisions. Between cases the group went over oral rehabilitation, complication management and how to evaluate patients who have already been rehabilitated.
Thursday went back to the classroom: complications, follow-up protocols and a review of every case of the week. Diplomas and a closing cocktail ended the programme.
Operating with a mentor at the table
The live surgeries are the reason people fly to São Paulo. Operating on a patient in a hospital, with Dr. Sakima or Dr. Ilg beside you, is a different kind of learning from watching a video or practising on a model. Mistakes get corrected in the moment, and so do the good decisions you were not sure about.
Certification
Participants received a certificate accredited by FAIPE University and ZAGA Centers.
Next edition
The Live Training is for clinicians who want to add zygomatic cases to their practice with supervision before doing them alone, whether that is a first case or a first case in a long time. Dates and the application form for the next edition are on the course page.
Learn the ZAGA Concept Now
Online course
Eleven modules with quizzes, available the moment you enrol. Study at your own pace; complete all the quizzes and you receive a 15 CE certificate for 15 hours of learning.
Cadaver course
Three to four days in Barcelona or New York with Dr. Carlos Aparicio: lectures on the ZAGA Concept, practice on 3D patient models, then surgery on cryopreserved heads.
Live Surgery Training
Operate on real patients at ZAGA Center São Paulo with Dr. André Sakima and Dr. Jan Peter Ilg at the table. The closest thing to your first zygomatic case, with a mentor.
