Long-term results after horseshoe sandwich osteotomy of the edentulous maxilla as a preprosthetic procedure.

The long-term results in 30 patients with maxillary atrophy who have been operated on using a horseshoe sandwich osteotomy and interpositional bone grafting are reported. The postoperative period ranges from 1-4 years. Lateral cephalometric X-rays, models and clinical investigations served to determine the resorption rate and the postoperative results. It could be shown that the vertical resorption rate amounts to 1.8 mm (20%) after 3 years. The sagittal resorption rate was about 1 mm with a wide individual range. Clinical investigation revealed satisfactory results in 28 patients.