COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ORAL SUBMUCOUS FIBROSIS PATIENTS UNDERGOING RECONSTRUCTION WITH BUCCAL FAT PAD WITH AND WITHOUT PLATELET RICH FIBRIN

Numerous treatment modalities have evolved over time for treatment of OSMF. These include simple release of fibrosis, skin grafting, use of bilateral tongue flap, nasolabial flap, palatal island flap, bilateral radial artery forearm free flap, superficial temporal fascia flap, buccal fat pad. But each has its own drawback.

Buccal fat pad (BFP) is a supple lobulated mass and has been steadily gaining acceptance amongst surgeons as it is accessible and can be easily mobilized.

Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) is a second generation platelet concentrate, developed in 2001 by Choukroun et al, now defined as ‘‘an immune and platelet concentrate collected on a single fibrin membrane containing all the constituents of a blood sample favorable to healing and immunity.’’ It has been revealed by clinical studies that this biomaterial promotes wound healing, wound sealing and hemostasis. PRF has certain clear advantages over other platelet concentrates which include simple, quick, single staged fabrication, cost effectiveness, reduced risk of antigenicity.

It has been shown that conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin in PRF is slow, with physiologically available thrombin of blood, creating a fibrin network similar to a natural one leading to more efficient cell migration and cell proliferation. It was hence proposed that grafting of autologous PRF membrane after excision of nondysplastic, potentially malignant, oral lesions could help in wound coverage and might also have a positive effect on wound healing and epithelialization.

We intend to apply the wound healing properties of PRF in treatment of the defects created by surgical excision of fibrous bands in OSMF patients by comparing it with the commonly used BFP flap and also compare the post operative mouth opening of the patients in both the groups.