Page 107 - Effects of radiotherapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy on oral microcirculation Renee Helmers

Late radiation-induced oral microvascular changes
Figure 3. Typical CytoCam images illustrating alterations in irradiated buccal mucosa in HNCP. 5 Telangiectasia or ‘ballooning’ of vessels (black arrows) can be seen in panels A-D and F, chaotic
arrangement and malformation of loops can be observed in panels C-E with panel E demonstrating in
one case an intense combination of telangiectasia with irregular capillaries and chaotic microvascular
(supplementary videoclip available online). The black arrows in panel F show distinctly the ‘ballooning’ phenomenon in the subepithelial capillary loops (supplementary videoclip available online). Similar observations matching microvascular irregularities (black arrows) from panel A and F were also presented by Tsuya et al. in atomic bomb survivors.30
Capillary density and blood vessel diameters
Table 3 summarizes the distribution of registered Fd and the data for capillary density and buccal Øbv. Mean buccal and gingiva TCD was equal to FCD in both control subjects and HNCP, there were no observed difference in hemodynamic functionality in vessels. A statistically significant decrease in mean FCD in irradiated mandibular gingiva was found compared to control gingiva, 34±17 cpll/mm2 vs. 68±19 cpll/mm2 (p<0.001) respectively. No significant difference was found between irradiated edentulous and dentate gingival FCD.
Irradiated buccal mucosa presented in general a larger mean Øbv of 16±3 mm vs. 14±1 mm for control buccal mucosa (p<0.001). No significant difference
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