Histological Changes in the Periosteum Following Subperiosteal Expansion in Rabbit Scalp

Purpose In intraoral bone grafting, tension-free coverage of the recipient site with periostealflap results in optimal wound closure. Tissue expansioncould be a suitable modality to obtain soft tissue in the oral cavity. The aim of this study was to assess the histology of the periosteumafter subperiosteal expansion in the rabbit scalp. Materials and Methods In this animal study, 6 rectangular tissue expanderswere placed in the skulls of 6 male white New Zealand rabbits; in 6 control rabbits, an incision was made to the periosteumbut no expansion was performed. Three months after the surgeries, the rabbits were sacrificed and tissue samples were stained with hematoxylin and eosinand Masson trichrome. Results The number of osteoblasts, fibroblasts, and blood vessels and the density of collagen fibers were significantly increased in the experimental group compared with the control group ( P Conclusions Subperiosteal tissue expansionin the rabbit scalpmarkedly increased the histologic components of the periosteuminvolved in bone regeneration.