Utilization of pedicled buccal fat pads for coverage of the lateral relaxing wound: A review of literature and a case series of 15 patients

Background The buccal fat pad (BFP) is an encapsulated mass originated from a specific fat tissue in various volume throughout the life of each person and BFP has been used in various surgeries as a source of useful graft material due to its easy accessibility and rich vascularization. Case Report This report describes fifteen patients who were treated with buccal fat pads (BFP) as a pedicled graft for lateral relaxing wound closure in primary cleft palate surgery. A review of relevant literature is also presented. Results All patients had a mean follow-up of 3.7 weeks with a minimum follow-up time of three weeks and a maximum follow-up of four weeks. All patients who had an uneventful imme…