Cyanoacrylate for closure of wounds in the oral mucosa in dogs.

The local clinical and histological reactions resulting from the use of a tissue adhesive, isobutylcyanoacrylate, were studied in the oral cavity of dogs. In each of 4 animals, 6 pairs of parallel incisions were made in the buccal mucosa. One incision in each pair was closed with adhesive material while the other incision was sutured with silk. The wounds were studied clinically and histologically at intervals ranging from 2 to 21 days. Clinically there were differences in the healing between gland glued and sutured incisions during the first 11 days. After 11 days the healing reactions were approximately the same in both groups. Histologically, the adhesive caused a delayed and disturbed healing of both the epithelium and connective tissue compared with that observed when sutures were used. As a result of this investigation, isobutylcyanoacrylate is not recommended for use instead of conventional and modern suturing materials when closing intraoral wounds.