Clinical application of cultured oral epithelium for palatal wounds after palatoplasty: a preliminary report.

OBJECTIVE

Mucoperiosteal defects of the hard palate after palatoplasty scar causing scar contraction, leading to poor growth of the maxilla. The promotion of wound healing in these cases through cultured epithelial allografting has been reported. Cultured epithelial allografting was done using allogeneic cultured cells, in the hope of improving growth of maxilla.

SUBJECTS AND

METHODS

Clefts of the soft and hard palate (seven patients), and a cleft of the soft palate (two patients) were present. Average patient age was 1 year 4 months. Palatoplasty was done by a conventional push-back operation. Oral epithelial cells from healthy adults were cultured using 3T3 cells as the feeder layer. After 3 weeks, cultured oral mucosal epithelium was grafted on a raw surface following palatoplasty.

RESULTS

The result was compared in two patients who had undergone push-back operation only. In all patients, the grafted areas underwent re-epithelialization after about 1 week and did not exhibit any clinical signs of graft rejection. Grafted areas healed completely after 2-3 weeks in all cases.

CONCLUSION

Cultured epithelial allografts serve as a temporary biological dressing, and accelerate epithelialization and wound healing. Allografting by cultured oral epithelium has proved to be a very useful therapeutic modality in palatoplasty, as well as effective augmentation materials in cases of oral mucosal defects.