Harvest of Free Gingival Grafts With or Without the Application of Hemostatic Sutures

Microvascular Response to the Harvest of Free Gingival Grafts With or Without the Application of Hemostatic Sutures: a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial Assessing Palatal Blood Flow by Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging

Randomized, single-center trial with 2 parallel arms and a 1:1 allocation ratio, with the aim of comparing clinical and microvascular healing and patients related outcomes, which follow the harvest of a free gingival graft, where hemostasis has been achieved with either compressive sutures and homeostatic sponges (control) or with a simplified suture-less approach (test).

This randomized two parallel arms controlled clinical trial aims to establish the early microvascular healing, clinical healing, and patients related outcomes, which follow the harvest of a free gingival graft, where hemostasis has been achieved with either compressive sutures and homeostatic sponges (control) or with a simplified suture-less approach (test). The primary outcome is the microvascular healing of the palate14 days after surgery, assessed by measuring the palatal blood flow with a Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging (LSI), expressed in Laser Speckle Perfusion Units (LSPU). Secondary outcomes include the palatal blood flow at 3, 7 and 30 days after surgery, the clinical healing of the palate, the occurrence of postoperative bleeding and patients related outcome measures assessed 14 postoperative days. A figure of 16 subjects per group was obtained based on an expected difference of 7 LSPU, considering a SD of 6.3 SLPU, 80% power, alpha 0.05, and assuming a foreseen drop-out rate of 15%. Patients will be randomly allocated to two groups: test (simplified suture-less approach) and control (compressive sutures and homeostatic sponges). Cases will be the unit of analysis and T-student (normal distribution) or U Mann Whitney (non normal distribution or non parametric variables) will be performed setting the significance level at p < 0.05.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Any adult (≥ 18 year old), male or female patient from the University Complutense of Madrid, being able to sign an informed consent form, presenting any mucogingival condition requiring the placement of a free gingival graft or a connective tissue graft obtained through the extra oral de-epithelialization of a free gingival graft.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients fitting to all the above inclusion criteria will be excluded from the study if unable to attend to the study-related procedures (including the follow-up visits) or if one or more of the following systemic or local exclusion criteria will be found at any time through the study:

Systemic primary exclusion criteria:

1. Compromised general health status contraindicating the study procedures (≥ASA IV);
2. Drug abuse, alcohol abuse, or smoking > 10 cigarettes a day;
3. Chronic use of corticosteroids, NSAIDs, or immune-modulators (any type, any dose);
4. Use of anti-aggregant or anti-coagulant drugs;
5. Pregnant or nursing women;
6. Hypersensitivity to ibuprofen.

Local primary exclusion criteria:

1. History of previous soft tissue surgeries in the area of the harvest;
2. Preoperative evidence of a palate thickness < 2mm in the area of interest;
3. Intraoperative evidence of active bleeding from the harvesting site at the end of surgery, which impedes the stabilisation of a good coagulum over the harvesting area;

Secondary exclusion criteria:

a. Non compliant patients: poor oral hygiene (FMPS >20%) at 2 consecutive visits.