COMBINED USE OF BONE-GRAFTS AND IMPLANTS IN THE SEVERELY RESORBED MAXILLA - POSTOPERATIVE EVALUATION BY COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY

Combined horseshoe-shaped iliac bone grafts and Branemark fixtures wer e used to rehabilitate patients with severely resorbed maxillae. Twent y patients were followed-up by computed tomography (CT) examination wi th axial slices to assess the fixture sites and to study the changes i n height and width of the bone graft 3 weeks and 3, 6, 12, and 24 mont hs postoperatively. The mean height of the bone graft at the 3-week po stoperative examination was 8.2 mm; after 2 years the mean value had d ecreased to 6.2 mm. The height reduction occurred mainly between the 3 -month and 1-year examinations. The mean width of the bone graft at th e 3-week postoperative examination was 12.2 mm, and it decreased to 8. 6 mm after 2 years. Most of the width reduction took place during post operative months 1-3. From 1 year after the grafting procedure, the ra te of reduction of both height and width was very low.