Scalpel Versus Diathermy in Wound Healing After Mucosal Incisions: A Split-Mouth Study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze and compare the healing of scalpel and diathermy incision wounds in the oral mucosa. This is a prospective split-mouth study conducted from January 2015 to April 2017 among patients undergoing either Le Fort I or anterior maxillary osteotomy (or both). The study groups were classified based on the different techniques used to make the incision (group A, incision made by a scalpel; group B, incision made by diathermy). Wound healing was assessed on the first, third, seventh, and tenth postoperative days using the Southampton scoring system. Data were statistically analyzed using the Student t test for continuous variables and the χ2 test for categorical variables, and P<.05 was considered significant. Among the 113 participants included in the study, the age range was 16 to 35years and male patients comprised 50.4%. The rates of postoperative complications of wound healing were 68.1% (n=77) in group A and 77% (n=87) in group B. Wound healing showed a statistically significant difference between the techniques (P<.001). The findings of this study suggest that wounds caused by scalpel incisions healed better than those caused by diathermy incisions in the oral mucosa.