The Slice Harvesting Technique for Tuberosity Soft Tissue Grafts: A Case Report.

Abstract

Constant efforts are made to achieve simpler, faster, and less-invasive surgical approaches for harvesting autologous connective tissue grafts. While the palate is considered a gold-standard har-vesting site, its association with complications and patient discomfort have led clinicians to explore alternative sites, like the tuberosity. However, current tuberosity harvesting techniques face several limitations. Through a multiple-recessions clinical case intended as a proof of concept, this article describes a novel harvesting technique based on a gingivectomy that triggers the tuberosity tangen-tially. Clinical, esthetic, and patient outcomes were monitored at 7 days, 14 days, 1 month, and 3 years at the grafted site as well as at the tuberosity. Multiple harvests were conducted at the tuberosities, offering connective tissue grafts suitable for micrografting. Harvested tuberosities healed completely without complication, and the patient reported no discomfort. At the grafted site, both esthetic and functional results were maintained for up to 3 years. The Slice Harvesting Technique offers a prom-ising alternative for tuberosity tissue harvesting, with critical advantages such as a high indication rate, simplicity, speed, safety, and the ability to provide user-friendly connective tissue grafts. Further, the technique appears to be sustainable and could also favor tuberosity regrowth for multiple rounds of harvesting. I.