Innesti ossei di ala iliaca autologa od omologa fresh frozen per la ricostruzione di mascellari edentuli con atrofia estrema : risultati preliminari di uno studio prospettico comparativo

Autogenous bone grafts versus fresh frozen allogeneic bone blocks for the reconstruction of severly atrophic edentolous jaws: preliminary results of a comparative study Purpose. To compare: a) the clinical outcome of the reconstruction of extremely atrophic edentulous maxillae with fresh frozen allogeneic bone (FFB) (group A) and autogenous bone (AB) (group B) iliac blocks; b) the peri-implant bone resorption and the survival rate of implants in the two groups. Materials and methods. In a one-year period, 8 patients were treated with FFB and 7 with AB iliac grafts. Five to seven months afterwards, 108 implants were inserted (59 in group A and 49 in group B). Four to five months afterwards, patients were rehabilitated with implant-supported prostheses. The mean follow-up was 24 months. Results. Prior to implant placement, graft exposure occurred in two patients in group A and in one patient in group B. The mean graft resorption prior to implant placement was 0.78 mm, and 0.54 mm in group A and B, respectively. After implant placement, bone graft exposures with partial loss of the graft occurred in 6 out of 8 patients in group A, and in none of the group B patients. The survival rate of implants was 90.1% and 100%, in group A and B, respectively. The mean values of peri-implant bone resorption at the end of the follow-up period were 1.64 mm and 0.92 mm in group A and B, respectively. Conclusion. Results of this study seem to demonstrate that FFB does not represent a reliable alternative to AB blocks, due to the higher rate of bone exposure and partial loss of the grafts, the lower implant survival and the higher peri-implant bone resorption in FFB patients.