Repair of oral mucosal defects using artificial dermis: factors related to postoperative scar contracture

Objective. To clarify wound-healing situations with artificial dermis used for the repair of oral mucosal defects, we investigated the incidence of postoperative scar contracture and studied factors related to cicatrization. Study design. Forty patients who underwent repair of oral mucosal defects using artificial dermis participated in this study. The degree of scar contracture was recorded 1 month after surgery. To study the factors related to cicatrization, patient characteristics of sex, age, excision region, fixation used, size of the graft, and number of days for silicon seat removal were examined. Logistic regression analysis was used for analysis of the relationship between cicatrization and patient characteristics. Results. One month after surgery, 70% of patients had no contracture, 22.5% of patients had moderate contracture, and 7.5% of patients had severe contracture. A significant correlation was found between cicatrization and the minimum diameter of the artificial dermis (P<.001). Conclusions. Reducing the minimum diameter of the artificial dermis may contribute to a decrease in scar contracture. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2011; 112: 161-163)