J shaped hip onlay graft as alternative to Le Fort I osteotomy for the treatment of sagittal discrepancies in the maxillary atrophies

Background The treatment of the severely resorbed maxilla is very challenging with regards to an implant supported rehabilitation. Very often, an intermaxillary sagittal discrepancy occurs, coupled to an increased vertical ridge resorption, and a class III-like situation can be appreciated. In such cases, the surgical treatment to restore the correct intermaxillary relationship is represented by a Le Fort I osteotomy with interpositional autogenous blocks. Thanks to this procedure, both the sagittal and the vertical intermaxillary relationships can be restored. Nevertheless, Le Fort I appoach is quite aggressive if we consider that most of the patients suitable for such a treatment are senior ones. For this reason, an alternative procedure can be chosen in order to reduce postoperative morbidity. Conclusion The described technique, the J-shaped onlay graft, can lead to a satisfactory restoration of the intermaxillary relationship in sight of a rehabilitation with implants and fixed or swivel lock prostheses.