Who knew sleeping could be a surgical technique?
In this case, from Spain, a patient had 6 implants placed in the maxillary arch in preparation for a full arch fixed prosthesis.
The posterior maxilla on the left side was a bit decifient so they did a sinus lift with xenograft and placed a Biomet 3i implant.
During the 4 month healing period, the implant at #13 migrated into the sinus.
Moreover it was stuck near the tuberosity area. Rather than create a new window into the sinus, the surgeon recommended for the patient to sleep on their right side.
By sleeping on the right side, the implant slowly gravitated more mesially near the original lateral window.
The patient was given antibiotics during this time and seen once per week to evaluate when a good time to retrieve the implant was.
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[mepr-show if=”loggedin”] After one week, the implant was in an area where the surgeon could easily remove it from the window.
When they reflected a flap, they were able to see the implant peeking through the window.
While this is a helpful technique to keep the corrective surgery minimally invasive, the authors note that it is important to remove the implant as soon as possible to avoid further complications.
Source: Removal of a migrated dental implant from a maxillary sinus through an intraoral approach: A case report – PMC (nih.gov) [/mepr-show]
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