Does the Presence of Pathological Change in the Schneiderian Membrane Increase the Risk of Membrane Perforation During Sinus Floor Elevation? A Systemic Review

A Schneiderian membrane (SM) thickness of >2 mm is regarded as a pathological mucosal change. The current study aimed to determine whether sinus floor elevation (SFE) in the presence of SM pathology increases the risk of membrane perforation and implant failure rate. MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, and CNKI, Wanfang, and VIP databases were systemically searched for studies published until February 2020. Randomized and nonrandomized studies reporting the incidence of SM perforation in patients with SM pathology (antral pseudocyst or mucosal thickening) during SFE were included. The outcome measures were the incidence of SM perforation and implant survival rate. The pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using fixed-effects model. A P value ≤.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Eighteen studies with a total of 1542 patients and 1797 SFE were included. A nonsignificant difference in the incidence of SM perforation was observed between the normal-appearing sinus and thickened sinus mucosa (fixed effects; OR, 0.896; 95% CI, 0.504–1.59; P = .707, I² = 32%). The rates of SM perforation in the normal sinus, mucosal thickening, and antral pseudocysts were 14%, 6%, and 6% respectively. The implant survival rate was 98% in the normal sinus and 100% in antral pseudocyst and mucosal thickening. SM thickening or antral pseudocysts did not increase the risk of membrane perforation or rate of implant failure. Additional randomized controlled trials are needed to evaluate the effect of pathological changes in the SM on the failure of bone augmentation and dental implants.