Bilateral nasolabial flap and Buccal fat pad flap for reconstruction of fibrotomy defect in surgical management of stage III/IV Oral Submucous Fibrosis (OSMF) – A comparative study

Abstract

20 patients were diagnosed with OSMF Stage III/IV were included in this comparative study. Surgical intervention was done followed by reconstruction of the raw denuded area; Bilateral (B/L) Nasolabial Flap and B/L Buccal fat pad flap. The use of either flap was subject to patient consent.Interincisal mouth opening and Complications associated with material were the study parameters.In conclusion, Both Nasolabial flap and Buccal pad fat are good options for reconstruction of the defect and we found no statistically significant difference between the two modalities at the end of 6 months post-operative follow up. We conclude Buccal fat pad and Nasolabial flap are both viable reconstruction method in surgical treatment of late stage OSMF.