Advantages and Disadvantages Surgical Techniques for the Treatment of Ankyloglossia

The Aim: To compare post-operative and histological aspect of frenotomy made by three different techniques Scalpel as a” gold standard”, CO2 Laser and Diode Laser.

Materials and Methods: Frenotomy was performed by scalpel, Co2, and diode laser. Specimens were classified into three groups according to tool used for surgical excision. The rats from 3 experiment groups with 20 rats in each group will be sacrificed for one of the following time intervals: 3, 7, 21, 35 day. Biopsy specimens, full thickness specimen containing the frenulum from both sides will dissected out of the 2 surgical sites on each rat. Histological evaluation was evaluated using light microscopy and assessed for: epithelial and collagen arrangement and presence of inflammatory cells. All the rats were weight in the beginning of the experiment and monitored by weighing three times a week. The rats were checked for their physiological and behavioural state.

Results: Co2 and Diode lasers showed immediate hemostasis compared to scalpel. Mean weight loss in the first week was highest in Diode group followed by Co2 and Scalpel. During the first three weeks all the groups gain weight about 17% relative to the initial weight without any statistically significant within the three groups. Histologically Diode show highest collateral damage followed by Co2. The scalpel group show rearrangement while the lasers groups shows new arrangement of epithelial and collagen tissues. Co2 and Diode both shows increased amount of collagen fibers compare to the scalpel group.

Conclusion: Co2 and Diode had better results in hemostasis parameter, but have disadvantage such as lateral heat damage and tissue necrosis. Conventional scalpel treatment is better option in terms of faster reepithelization. The preliminary results enhance the hypothesis that laser cause to new arrangement in the epithelial and collagen tissue that lead to less recurrent grow of the frenulum.