The reconstruction of oral defects with buccal fat pad.

QUESTIONS UNDER STUDY 1) To evaluate the success of buccal fat pad used in the reconstruction of oral defects, 2) to clarify its indications and size limitations, 3) to identify risk factors if there were any. METHODS In this prospective clinical study, buccal fat pad was used in 26 patients with different indications which included 5 defects resulting from tumour excisions, 3 maxillary cysts, 3 secondary maxillary cyst defects and 15 oro-antral communications. All defects were in the maxilla with a maximum size of 5x 3 cm. Patients were evaluated for signs of flap epithelialisation, infection, fistulae recurrence and facial contour deficiency. RESULTS The epithelialisation process was completed after 3 to 4 weeks without any complications in 22 patients. However, partial dehiscence of the graft occurred in 2 patients with large maxillary defects. We also observed serious bleeding during the operation of one of our cases. Because of the small fistula, 1 patient was re-operated. CONCLUSION The results of this series support the view that the use of buccal fat pad is a simple, convenient, and reliable method for the reconstruction of small to medium-sized oral defects.