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Updated: Dec 27, 2025
Tissue Characterization after a New Disaggregation Method for Skin Micro-Grafts Generation
Published on: March 4, 2016
Evaluation of 2 techniques of epithelial removal in subepithelial connective tissue graft surgery: a comparative
Paola Marques de Mattos1, Vula Papalexiou1, Vinícius Augusto Tramontina1
1Department of Dentistry, Life Sciences School, Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil.
Purpose:
Subepithelial connective tissue grafts (SCTGs) are commonly performed for the treatment of gingival recession due to their high predictability. This study evaluated and histologically compared connective tissue grafts in terms of the presence of epithelial remnants and composition of the tissue types that were present (epithelium, lamina propria, and submucosa).
Methods:
Ten patients underwent epithelium removal using 2 different techniques: the use of a blade (group B) and through abrasion (group A). Twenty samples were collected and each tissue type was analyzed histologically in terms of its area, thickness, and proportion of the total area of the graft.
Results:
In 4 samples (40%) from group B (n=10) and 2 samples (20%) from group A (n=10), the presence of an epithelial remnant was observed, but the difference between the groups was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Likewise, no statistically significant differences were observed between the groups regarding the area, mean thickness, or proportion of the total area for any of the tissue types (P>0.05).
Conclusions:
Histologically, SCTGs did not show statistically significant differences in terms of their tissue composition depending on whether they were separated from the epithelial tissue by abrasion or by using a blade.
