title: Maintaining primary closure after guided bone regeneration procedures: introduction of a new flap design and preliminary results.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Various flap designs have been proposed by numerous authors for the maintenance of passive primary soft tissue closures following guided bone regeneration (GBR) procedures. A previous publication by the present author documented the maintenance of passive soft tissue primary closures 96.1% of the time at least 6 months after GBR therapy in all areas of the mouth. Although seemingly impressive, a 96.1% success rate means that there is premature membrane exposure 3.9% of the time. A new flap design is introduced for use in conjunction with previously described flap designs to lessen the incidence of premature membrane exposure.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 173 sites treated with GBR therapy were examined up to 6 months postoperatively to assess the ability to maintain passive soft tissue primary closure. Any membrane exposure during this 6-month postoperative period was deemed a failure, even if the site was successfully treated with an implant placement and restoration.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 171 of 173 GBR-treated sites demonstrated the maintenance of a soft tissue passive primary closure 6 months postoperatively, yielding a success rate of 98.8%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The introduction of the proposed flap design for use in conjunction with previously described flap designs significantly reduced the incidence of premature membrane exposure after a variety of GBR procedures.
authors.affiliation: Milton, MA 02186, USA. progressiveperio@aol.com
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Fugazzotto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016301:Alveolar Bone Loss / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D016557:Guided Tissue Regeneration, Periodontal / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008875:Middle Aged; D019647:Oral Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D013529:Surgical Wound Dehiscence / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial