Piezosurgery in the maxillary sinus augmentation procedure.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of the perforations of the Schneiderian membrane and the time spent for the antrostomy,separation and elevation of the sinus membrane related to the area of the bony window, using piezosurgery(Easy Surgery-BioSAFIN-Ancona-Italy). METHODS: At the Department of Oral Sciences of “Sapienza” University of Rome were selected 40 patients,19 females and 21 males, mean age was 53,6 years(range 42-67),total edentulous in the posterior maxilla, in the period between June 2005 and January 2008.The residual alveolar ridge height did not exceed 4mm. All patients underwent to maxillary sinus augmentation procedure , using piezosurgery for the osteotomy of the bony window (insert-OT1), sinus membrane separation (insert-EL1) and sinus membrane elevation (insert-EL2) .For each case treated has been evaluated the area of the bony window and the time necessary for the antrostomy, separation and elevation of the sinus membrane. Was recorded also the occurrence of Schneiderian membrane perforation. RESULTS:The average time necessary for the surgical procedure was 10.32 min (SD: 2,093) with 96.78 mm² mean surface extension of the bony window . Seven Schneiderian membrane perforations were recorded with an incidence of 17.5%, resolved with the use of a resorbable membrane. CONCLUSION: Piezoelectric surgery allows to simplify the technique of the maxillary sinus lift by reducing the risk of perforation of the membrane, but due to less cutting efficiency, results in an increase in operative time compared with rotary instruments.