Mucosal Epithelial Preservation of Free Nasal Grafts Depending on the Recipient Site

Objectives/Hypothesis Reconstruction of mucosal defects using free mucosal grafts has become a common procedure during endoscopic sinus surgery. Epithelialization of mucosal grafts affects postoperative complications and outcomes, which could be influenced by different recipient tissue. However, morphological changes occurring in the grafts transplanted over different tissues remain unexplored. Study Design An animal study. Methods Free mucoperichondrial grafts were prepared from the nasal septum of rabbits; the cartilage group had reconstruction on the nasal septal cartilage, and the perichondrium group had reconstruction on the contralateral perichondrium. The nasal septum was removed after 1 and 4 weeks of reconstruction, and the graft was histologically evaluated. Results After 1 week of reconstruction, the mucosal epithelium of grafts in the cartilage group disappeared, whereas the columnar epithelium of grafts was preserved in the perichondrium group. After 4 weeks of reconstruction, the mucosal defect site was covered with mucosal epithelium in both groups. However, while squamous epithelium was mostly observed in the cartilage group, columnar epithelium containing the healthy ciliary and goblet cells was observed in the perichondrium group. Statistically significant differences were detected in the parameters of epithelial morphology between the two groups, which were higher in the perichondrium group. Conclusions In the reconstruction of mucosal defects using free mucosal grafts, difference in recipient tissue affects the graft epithelial morphology. Level of Evidence NA Laryngoscope, 132:2301–2306, 2022