RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: The integrity of the palatal mucosa can be lost due to congenital, pathological, and iatrogenic conditions. Various surgical techniques have been suggested for the closure of palatal defects. The aim of the current study is to present the free buccal fat pad graft as a novel technique to repair the soft-tissue defects at the palate. PATIENTS AND METHODS: During a 2-year period, the free fat tissue graft harvested from the buccal fat pad (BFP) (FBFG) and used to reconstruct five soft-tissue defects of the palate in five patients (2 women, 3 men; mean age, 34 years; range, 22-58 years). In two patients, the palatal defect size was 2-3 cm and resulted from the resection of pleomorphic adenoma. In two other patients, the defect was due to odontogenic lesion, and in the last patient, the etiology was an iatrogenic dehiscence during maxillary segmentation surgery. Patients were examined every 2 weeks in the first 3 months and thereafter every 3 months. RESULTS: Five patients were treated with FBFG to reconstruct palatal defects and were followed up for 6-24 months. The healing process of the BFP and the recipient sites were uneventful, with minimal morbidity. At 3 months after the surgery, there was complete epithelialization of the graft at the recipient sites. CONCLUSIONS: Harvesting of FBFG is a simple procedure with minor complications; manipulation and handling the graft are easy. The use of FBFG in reconstruction of small and medium palatal defects is encouraging with excellent clinical outcomes.