Histopathological and histomorphometric investigation of the effects of cryosurgery, electrosurgery and scalpel on wound healing in normal and diabetic rats

Wound healing involves the phases of inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. In diabetes, impairment in wound healing occurs.Although the exact mechanism of the relation between NO and wound healing remains unclear, it is known that NO plays part in wound healing.VEGF is a growth factor and it has been suggested that impaired wound healing in diabetes is associated with the decrease in VEGF production.Bleeding problems result from the use of scalpel in oral region which is rich in vessels during surgical procedures. Electrocautery has long been used in dentistry as it enables rapid hemostasis and dissection. Cryosurgery brings about direct mechanical injury in the cells with no incision wound and bleeding.In the present study, tissue sample obtained from the wounds of healthy and diabetic rats? tongues formed by cryosurgery, electrosurgery and scalpel were compared using histopathological, histomorphometric and immunohistochemical methods for the investigation of the expression levels of iNOS and VEGF.In healthy rats, iNOS and VEGF levels, which were high at the start, decreased by the end of the study. In diabetic rats when iNOS and VEGF levels, which both low at the start of the study, were examined. It was established that iNOS level decreased further while VEGF levels remained unchanged by the end. iNOS and VEGF levels were also established to be higher in healthy group compared to diabetic group.In conclusion, this study demonstrated that NO and VEGF are molecules that may play an important role in the early phase of wound healing.