Evaluation of Cyanoacrylate as an Alternative to Sutures in Free Gingival Graft Stabilization: Effects on Graft Shrinkage, Microcirculation, and Postoperative Healing

Free gingival graft (FGG) is a widely used periodontal plastic surgery technique for treating gingival recession, increasing keratinized gingiva width, and enhancing peri-implant soft tissues. This procedure helps improve oral hygiene by creating a keratinized tissue barrier that resists frictional forces. While FGG is considered the gold standard due to its predictable success, donor site healing remains a challenge, often associated with postoperative pain, bleeding, and discomfort.

FGG involves two wound sites: the recipient and the donor site. The donor site, typically the hard palate, heals by secondary intention. Research has focused on minimizing donor site morbidity by exploring various biomaterials, growth factors, and wound healing strategies, such as platelet-rich fibrin (PRF), laser therapy, and chemotherapeutic agents. Covering the donor site aims to reduce bacterial contamination, accelerate healing, and decrease pain. Recent advancements in biomaterials and tissue adhesives have been explored to optimize this process.

At the recipient site, graft adaptation and long-term stability are crucial for success. Proper vascularization, integration, and esthetic outcomes depend on biological responses and surgical techniques. Traditional suturing methods, while effective, contribute to graft contraction due to tissue trauma and increased hematoma formation. Alternative stabilization methods, such as fibrin glue, staples, adhesive tapes, and cyanoacrylate-based adhesives, have been explored to minimize these effects.

Cyanoacrylate (CA)-based adhesives are promising biomaterials for tissue fixation due to their high adhesion strength, rapid polymerization, and stability in moist environments. First introduced for FGG stabilization by Hoexter in 1978, CA adhesives have demonstrated bacteriostatic properties, slow biodegradability, and reduced postoperative pain compared to sutures. Butyl cyanoacrylate (BCA) adhesives, in particular, provide hemostatic effects and facilitate rapid wound closure, potentially reducing complications such as graft shrinkage and donor site bleeding.

Previous studies on FGG contraction assumed uniform linear shrinkage, which may not accurately reflect the actual healing process. Digital measurement techniques provide more precise assessments by accounting for the irregular surface morphology of healing grafts. Additionally, microcirculatory changes play a critical role in graft survival, with vascular connections forming by the third day and sinusoidal vascular loops developing by day five (Nobuto et al., 1988). Laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) is a non-invasive tool used to evaluate blood flow dynamics in gingival wound healing, providing objective and repeatable microcirculatory data.