Histological changes in radial forearm skin flaps in the oral cavity.

We reported previously that skin flaps transplanted to the oral cavity in reconstructive surgery for oral cancer frequently acquired the gross appearance of buccal mucosa. The changes were shown to be reactive in nature. The "changed" flaps generally had a heavier infiltration of leukocytes in the dermis and appeared to have thicker epithelium. The present study quantifies these parameters, as well as the numbers of intraepithelial leukocytes. The flaps that had acquired the gross appearance of oral mucosa had significantly thicker epithelium, larger numbers of dermal leukocytes, and more intraepidermal inflammatory cells per unit length than flaps that retained the gross appearance of thin skin. No correlation was found between these changes and radiotherapy. Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.