Endoscopic lift of the maxillary sinus floor in Beagles

The aim of this study was to introduce a modified endoscopic lift of the floor of the maxillary sinus in Beagles. Twelve operations (bilateral and randomly chosen) were done in 6 Beagles each in the test group (modified endoscopic operation), and the control group, in which the operation was done with an osteotome. All operations were evaluated by two indices of safety (perforation of the sinus membrane and nasal bleeding) and 3 effective indices (the intraoperative height after lifting, volume of bone grafts, and dislocation of the sinus grafts). The sinus membrane was not perforated and there were no nasal bleeds in either group. The intraoperative height after lifting was 13.7 (0.8) mm in the test group and 9.1 (0.5) mm in the control group, so it was significantly higher in the test group than the control group (p=0.0001). Similarly, the volume of bone graft was 0.9 (0.04) ml in the test group and 0.5 (0.02) ml in the control group (p=0.0001). The volume of the anterior and posterior bone grafts in the implant cavity in the test group did not differ significantly (p=0.102), while there were significant differences in the control group (p=0.002). Endoscopic lifting of the floor of the maxillary sinus is a safe and effective approach based on direct observation in Beagles.