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

OBJECTIVE: Mucoperiosteal defects of the hard palate after palatoplasty sca r causing scar contraction, leading to poor growth of the maxilla, The prom otion of wound healing in these cases through cultured epithelial allograft ing has been reported. Cultured epithelial allografting was done using allo geneic 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 I year 4 months. Palatoplasty was done by a conventional push-back operation. Oral epithelial cells from healthy adults were cultured using 3 T3 cells as the feeder layer. After 3 weeks, cultured oral mucosal epitheli um was grafted on a raw surface following palatoplasty. RESULTS: The result was compared in two patients who had undergone push-bac k operation only. In all patients, the grafted areas underwent re-epithelia lization after about I 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 moda lity in palatoplasty, as well as effective augmentation materials in cases of oral mucosal defects.