Tissue expanders in soft tissue reconstruction.

In order to reconstruct soft tissue defects, plastic and reconstructive surgeons have developed various means that range from the simplest skin grafts to the most complex transfer of microvascular free flaps, but there are no other more than tissue expansion can achieve good results in both aesthetic and functional aspects. From Oct. 1986 to Oct. 1988, tissue expansion was used in seven male and six female patients aged from 11 to 40 years, with a mean of 25. They were divided into 3 groups according to the location of defects: head and neck, 6 cases; trunk, 2 cases; and extremity, 5 cases. Seven cases had successful results and 6 cases failed: one due to infection, one due to leakage of bag and another 4 due to expander extrusion. We know that tissue expansion is a relatively new technique. It expands the healthy tissue immediately adjacent to the defects and provides tissue with near perfect color match, texture, sensation and hair distribution for reconstruction. Although high risk of failure was noted (6 in 13 cases), it still deserves trying for its reasonable aesthetic and functional results.