Evaluation of the effect of direct sinus lift surgery on maxillary sinus volume by Mimics software.

Introduction: Sinus lift surgery allows sufficient volume of bone to be created in the posterior part of the maxilla. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in maxillary sinus volume after a sinus lift and the rate of increase in ridge height at the site of the graft.

Methods: Eleven patients were chosen for sinus lift from among those who were referred to the radiology department for implant placement in the posterior region of the maxilla and whose bone height at the posterior of the maxilla was less than 4 mm on the cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) image. The sinus volume was measured after importing the CBCT file in DICOM format into Mimics software. After determining the sinus volume, the patients underwent sinus lift surgery, and the amount of material used during the surgery was measured. After the time required to repair the area, the CBCT image was taken again. Then, the changes in the volume of the maxillary sinus and the increase in the height of the maxillary ridge at the surgical site were calculated. Then, the second stage of the surgery was performed to place the implant at the implant site.

Results: For an average of 1.40 cm³ of material, the rate of increase in ridge height was 10.52 mm, and the average change in sinus volume was 1.19 cm³.

Conclusions: CBCT images and Mimics software have many applications in examining and predicting parameters before and after sinus lift surgery.