Surgical complications in oral implantology

  • L. Al-Faraje
UK: Quintessence price £126.00; pp 248 ISBN 9780867155068 | ISBN: 978-0-8671-5506-8

This reader-friendly publication provides a comprehensive reference guide to almost every conceivable complication relating to implant placement and lateral window sinus elevation. It is well written and richly illustrated and is aimed at dental practitioners with an interest in implant placement and grafting procedures, as well as dental specialists.

This book is divided into five parts, covering a total of 75 surgical complications. Parts one to three educate the reader on how to identify pre-operative conditions that could lead to complications and how to deal with both intra-operative and postoperative complications that may arise in implant placement. Complications covered include: incorrect implant angulation, nerve injury, sinus floor perforation, inadequate initial stability and complications in flapless implant placement to name but a few.

Part four covers complications associated with lateral window sinus elevation, divided into pre-operative, intra-operative and postoperative complications. The range of complications covered varies from pre-operative acute sinusitis to early implant migration into the sinus cavity and everything in between. Part five is dedicated to the prevention and management of pain and infection with a useful chapter on bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw and a chapter on patients with bleeding problems.

Each complication has a dedicated chapter and is presented clearly and comprehensively as a practical clinical guide. Each chapter follows a similar outline with a concise description, symptoms where appropriate, prevention strategies and the various management techniques required. Each chapter is also well illustrated with high quality photographs demonstrating step-by-step management, which helps to give the reader a deeper insight into the complexities of the management of certain issues.

The supplemental appendices provide useful practical information for the surgeon, for example risk factor checklists, sample consent forms and postoperative advice information. However, it must be remembered that this publication targets an American audience.

Overall, this comprehensive reference book concisely describes each complication methodically, with evidence-based information on prevention through to management. It has been designed as a quick reference guide to the diagnosis and management of surgical complications and how to avoid them. It is a useful publication for those involved in the surgical aspects of implantology. However, having previously used Stuart J. Froum's publication Dental implant complications: etiology, prevention, and treatment as a reference text, I feel this is no substitute for the leader in its field.