BONE-GRAFTING OF THE FLOOR OF THE MAXILLARY SINUS FOR THE PLACEMENT OF ENDOSSEOUS IMPLANTS

This study describes and evaluates a technique to augment the floor of the maxillary sinus and to widen the alveolar crest of the atrophic p osterior maxilla with autogenous bone. The subjects were 43 patients w hose maxillary alveolar crest was not high enough to permit reliable p lacement of endosseous implants in the posterior maxilla. Large autoge nous cancellous bone grafts (n=37) or smaller grafts from the mandibul ar symphyseal area (n=5) or the maxillary tuberosity (n=1) were harves ted. The operations were done in either one stage (n=20 patients, 36 s inuses) or two (bone grafting followed by placement of implants, n=23, 45 sinuses). In 28 cases the sinus membrane was perforated with no su bsequent problems. Nine of the 171 Branemark implants that were insert ed were lost during follow-up (mean 26 months, range 8-62 months). Aug mentation of the maxillary sinus with autogenous bone is a reliable wa y of achieving placement of an implant.