The reaction to isobutyl-2-cyanoacrylate when used as a periodontal dressing following gingivectomy

Thesis (M.Sc.D.)--Boston University, School of Graduate Dentistry, 1974. Periodontics.Bibliography included.Isobutyl cyanoacrylate has been shown to have value as a surgical dressing. It has good bond strength, relatively low toxicity, and provides immediate hemostasis when allowed to polymerize on cut living tissue. In this study 160 laboratory rats were divided into four groups. Group 1 animals received a gingivectomy, and the wound was covered with cyanoacrylate from an aerosol dispenser. Group 2 gingivectomies were dressed with a piece of fabric soaked in cyanoacrylate. Group 3 animals were treated with Coe Pak periodontal dressing post gingivectomy. Group 4 animals received anesthesia only. The cyanoacrylate dressing provided immediate hemostasis of the surgical wound. The aerosol dispenser caused dressing to be embedded in the connective tissue and layered on bone so rigidly that it was not sloughed during healing. The group receiving Coe Pak dressing showed post surgical bleeding and a tendancy toward slower epithelialization. The group treated with cyanoacrylate impregnated fabric appeared to have the best qualities. No differences in healing were found after the fourth postoperative month to the termination of the study at one year. Cyanoacrylate retained in the wound was surrounded by histocytes, plasma cells, and giant cells. These cells facilitated the resorption of dressing and no trace remained at the fourth month. Blood studies and histologic examination of the lung, liver, spleen, kidney, and cervical lymph node revealed no pathology that could be attributed to the surgical procedure or the dressing used, save a slight leukocytosis one day postoperatively in the treated groups