Comparison of consequences of Operculectomy using conventional surgical knife and Laser: A systematic review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Objective: A conventional surgical knife (scalpel) or laser can remove an inflamed operculum. The present systematic review and meta-analysis compared the pain and healing caused by these two different techniques of operculectomy at different follow-up times.

Methods: An electronic search for studies published in English until September 2023 related to the consequences of operculectomy procedures using scalpel and laser techniques was performed in PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Embase, Cochrane, and Scopus. The risk of bias was assessed with Cochrane risk-of-bias tool 2. Stata 17 software was used to perform a meta-analysis.

Results: Seven studies were included, and 170 patients were examined. Pain in the second (P=0.07) and seventh day (P=0.10) follow-ups were not statistically different in the two groups. On the seventh (P=0.34) and 14th day (P=0.39) follow-ups, the healing index was not significantly different between the two groups.

Conclusions: The meta-analysis showed no statistically significant difference between pain and healing caused by operculectomy using a scalpel and diode laser. However, more randomized clinical trials and larger sample sizes are needed for definitive results.