Sinus floor elevation in sites with a perforated schneiderian membrane: What is the effect of placing a collagen membrane in a rabbit model?

Objective To investigate the healing following sinus grafting in sites with a perforated schneiderian membrane repaired using a collagen membrane, compared to control sites without membrane perforation. Materials & Methods Following elevation of the sinus membrane in 16 rabbits, each sinus was assigned to one of the following groups: (a) intentional schneiderian membrane perforation, followed by the placement of a collagen membrane and bone grafting (group SMP) and (b) bone grafting without a perforation of the schneiderian membrane and without a collagen membrane placement (control group). At 2 and 4 weeks (n = 8 for each time‐point), microcomputed tomographic (micro‐CT) and histomorphometric analyses were performed. Results Overall new bone formation in group SMP was significantly delayed compared to the control group at 2 and 4 weeks (1.58 ± 1.25% vs. 9.23 ± 2.69% at 2 weeks, 10.43 ± 3.55 vs. 17.86 ± 4.11% at 4 weeks, p