Cleavage lines in the oral mucosa and oral scars.

Previously published data on the mucosal cleavage lines were compared with data on the formation of scar tissue after palatoplasty and it was found that, in the palate and surrounding tissues, scar formation is light when incisions are parallel to the long axis of the cleavage lines but severe when incisions are made at right angles to the cleavage lines. A few cases were also found where jaw movement was severely restricted because of the formation of hypertrophic scar between the upper and lower alveolar ridges. It is therefore desirable that surgical incisions in thepalate and surrounding tissues be made parallel to the long axis of the mucosal cleavage lines.