Abstract
Purpose
The palatal mucosa is a major donor site for connective tissue in the field of periodontal plastic surgery, since it satisfies both the esthetic and functional demands of patients. The purpose of this study was to use histomorphometric analysis to measure the thicknesses of the palatal mucosa and the lamina propria including the epithelium on cadavers.
Methods
Thirty-four hemimaxillae of cadavers were examined (13 male and 4 female, mean age 57.2 years). Each maxilla was processed for histological sectioning and subsequently for histomorphometric analysis. The thicknesses of the palatal mucosa and the lamina propria including the epithelium were measured at three points starting from the alveolar crest, at intervals of 4 mm, with the aid of Adobe Photoshop.
Results
The thickness of the palatal mucosa at the alveolar crest and at 4 and 8 mm below the alveolar crest were 2.51 ± 0.83 (mean ± SD), 2.92 ± 0.80, and 3.62 ± 0.99 mm, respectively, and thus increasing from the alveolar crest toward the midpalatal suture. Conversely, the thicknesses of the lamina propria including the epithelium at these same positions were 2.06 ± 0.70, 1.54 ± 0.48, and 1.28 ± 0.46 mm, respectively, thus decreasing toward the midpalatal suture.
Conclusions
The present results indicate that clinicians need to be particularly careful when harvesting palatal mucosa that is destined to be used as autogenous donor material for connective tissue in periodontal plastic surgery.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (NRF-2011-0007227).
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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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Sun-Kyoung Yu and Baek-Hee Lee have contributed equally.
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Yu, SK., Lee, BH., Lee, MH. et al. Histomorphometric analysis of the palatal mucosa associated with periodontal plastic surgery on cadavers. Surg Radiol Anat 35, 463–469 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-012-1066-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-012-1066-0