Radiological evaluation of sinus lift operation: what the general radiologist needs to know.

This article provides an overview of the sinus lift operation, including radiographic evaluation of the procedure. Plain radiographs such as dental or panoramic radiographs have conventionally been used to measure the bone volume in the operation site, but full three-dimensional assessment of the region before and after the sinus lift operation is advisable both to allow planning of the lift and to see the results of it. The general radiologists sometimes misinterpret the graft material used in sinus lift cases as odontogenic tumour or some other pathology. The aim of this article is to put an end to this wrong interpretation and to familiarize the general radiologist with pre-operative and post-operative imaging of sinus lift cases.