Objectives

To evaluate prevalences, affecting risk factors and efforts for repair mechanism for different forms of sinus membrane perforations (SMP) during sinus floor elevation (SFE) using the lateral window technique (LWT).

Material and methods

For 334/434 patients, SFE undergoing LWT prevalence of SMP was retrospectively evaluated including a subselection based on membrane perforation size (<10 mm: small–moderate/≥10 mm: large) and biotype (BT; thick BT/thin BT) into four subgroups (SMP1: thick BT/small–moderate; SMP2: thin BT/small–moderate; SMP3: thick BT/large; SMP4: thin BT/large). For the various subgroups, patient- and surgery-related/anatomic risk factors affecting SMP were evaluated and the scope of sinus membrane repair (SSMR) mechanisms rated with 1 (easy) to 5 (complex) was compared.

Results

For 103/434 SMP (27.6%) in 93/334 patients (30.8%) the prevalence of various forms of SMP differed significantly (p < 0.001) among the four subgroups. SMP4 with a prevalence of 45.6% (n = 47) was the most frequent type, while SMP3 had low prevalence with 4.85% (n = 5). Small/moderate SMPs with thick (SMP1: n = 26) or thin BT (SMP2: n = 23) were seen in 26.2% and 23.3%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed significant differences between subgroups with large perforations (SMP3/SMP4) and those with small/moderate perforations (SMP1/SMP2) regarding anatomic risk factors such as residual ridge height (p = 0.023) and history of previous oral surgical interventions (OSI; p = 0.026). Most evidently, multivariate analysis showed that induction of large SMP with thin biotype (SMP4) was significantly affected by the presence of sinus septa (p < 0.022, OR: 2.415), reduced residual ridge height (p < 0.001, OR: 1.842), and previous OSI (p < 0.001, OR: 4.545). SSMR differed significantly (p < 0.001) between SMP4 (4.62 ± 0.49) and the subgroups SMP1 (1.11 ± 0.32), SMP2 (1.08 ± 028), and SMP3 (2.2 ± 0.55).

Conclusion

The most frequently found type of SMP had characteristics of thin biotype and large size associated with risk factors such as sinus septa, reduced residual ridge, and previous surgical interventions and required challenging repair mechanisms assessing clinical impact.