Buccal Fat Pad in Reconstruction of Oral Defects

An ablative surgical procedure in the oral cavity is curative for oral and maxillofacial pathologies, but simultaneously produces hard and soft tissue defects. These defects produce functional and psychological problems in the post operative period. The Objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of buccal fat pad in reconstruction of intra-oral defects, elaborate the surgical technique used and also identify its post operative complications A prospective study was conducted on patients with oral defects covered by Buccal fat pad between July 2008 and January 2016 in department of oral and maxillofacial surgery of Khyber College of Dentistry Peshawar. The variables of the study were, Age, gender, cause of surgery and location of intraoral defect. Patients were subsequently evaluated for signs of epithelialisation and Post operative complications. A total of 50 patients (33 males and 17 females) were recruited in the study. Male to female ratio of patients was 1.94: 1.and Mean age of 51.25 years SD + 12.94. The most common cause of intraoral defect was because of excisions of malignant tumors of oral mucosa and salivary glands. Maxilla was the most common site for the surgical defects observed. The epithelialisation process was completed in 3 weeks without any complications in 44 patients. However dehiscence of the graft was seen in 6 patients, yielding success rate of 88%. We also noted limited mouth opening in cases of retro molar area defects, but this problem was resolved with post operative physiotherapy. It was concluded that buccal fat pad is a convenient, feasible and quick method of reconstruction for sealing intraoral defects.