Immediate implantation into the posterior maxilla after antroplasty: the Cranin-Russell Operation.

Heretofore, the absence of adequate alveolar bone (4 mm or less) beneath the maxillary sinus has prevented placement of endosteal root-form implants at the same time as antroplasty. A technique has been devised which permits implantation to occur upon the occasion of sinus floor elevation. This has been made possible by the use of titanium fracture miniplates, which serve as transitional fixation devices until mineralization of the graft material creates implant osseointegration.