Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate distraction osteogenesis for reconstruction of vertically deficient alveolar ridges and to investigate the occurrence of complications during treatment and the effect of these complications on the final outcome.
Patients and methods: The study included 23 patients who underwent a total of 29 distraction procedures. Two types of distractors were used: intraosseous and juxtaosseous. All of the patients were submitted to the same distraction protocol. The complications occurring during treatment were classified as 1) intraoperative, 2) postoperative, 3) during distraction and consolidation, and 4) postdistraction.
Results: The prevalence of cases with complications was 41.37% intraoperative, 24.13% postoperative, 65.51% during distraction and consolidation, and 58.62% postdistraction. Because many complications coincided in some patients, the overall prevalence throughout the treatment was 79.31% of cases; 3.44% of the complications jeopardized subsequent implant placement.
Conclusions: Although a high frequency of complications was encountered, severe complications were rare. Most of the complications had simple solutions, and most did not jeopardize the final outcome. Distraction osteogenesis is a viable option for treating vertical alveolar bone defects.