Severe maxillary atrophy treatment with Le Fort I, allografts, and implant-supported prosthetic rehabilitation.

PURPOSE: Recently, several authors have described that autologous and fresh-frozen bones are effective materials to correct jaw bone defects before endosseous implant positioning. The aim of this study was to report a multistep oral rehabilitation of severe atrophic maxilla by means of Le Fort I osteotomy for maxillary downward and forward repositioning, allografts, implant insertion, and prosthetic loading.
METHODS: Patients with severe maxillary atrophy underwent Le Fort I osteotomy associated to fresh-frozen interpositional bone allografts. At 7 months after reconstructive procedure, 2 biopsies for each patient have been taken, and in the same surgical procedure, endosseous implants were placed. Five months afterward, abutments were connected for the final prosthodontic restauration. Each patient was evaluated at 1-year follow-up after prosthetic loading.
RESULTS: At 1-year follow-up after functional prosthetic loading, no infection of the allografts or implant failure has been reported. Clinical and radiologic follow-up showed no sign of bone resorption in all the osteotomic sites and in the grafted areas. Histological analysis showed evidence of allograft osteointegration and healing.
CONCLUSIONS: Multistep oral rehabilitation of severe atrophic maxilla with Le Fort and interpositional bone allografts represents a reliable surgical technique. According to this clinical, radiologic, and histologic reports, interpositional fresh-frozen bone allograft seems to be a valuable material for grafting jaw as it is cheaper than other materials and is safe, and it avoids donor site, decreasing the morbidity of the treatment