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Updated: Jun 28, 2026
Engineered Vascularized Muscle Flap
Published on: January 11, 2016
Blood vessels of the peri-implant mucosa: a comparison between flap and flapless procedures
Jung-In Kim1, Byung-Ho Choi, Jingxu Li
1Graduate, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, College of Dentistry, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.
Objective:
The vascularity of a peri-implant tissue is a very important parameter in the establishment and maintenance of healthy tissue after dental implant insertion. The purpose of this study was to compare the vascularity of the peri-implant mucosa between flap and flapless implant surgeries by using a canine mandible model.
Study Design:
In six mongrel dogs, bilateral, edentulated, and flat alveolar ridges were created in the mandible. After 3 months of healing, 2 implants were placed in each side by either flap or flapless procedure. After another healing period of 3 months, biopsies were obtained, prepared for light microscopy, and exposed to morphometric measurements.
Results:
The supracrestal connective tissue lateral to the implant was found to be more richly vascularized in the flapless group than in the flap group.
Conclusion:
These results suggest that the flapless procedure may increase the vascularity of the peri-implant mucosa.
