Abstract
Tissue expansion allows highly esthetic reconstruction by the use of expanded adjacent tissue to reconstruct a defect after excision of tumors and scar. We retrospectively reviewed data on 49 expanded flap reconstructions performed in 39 patients during the period 2006 - 2013.
Location, disease, reconstruction methods, and complications were collected. A total of 39 patients ( mean age of 32 years ) underwent reconstruction by insertion of a tissue expander in the trunk ( n = 15 ), the head and neck ( n = 7 ), and the back ( n = 4 ). The indications for tissue expansion were breast reconstruction ( n = 14 ), scar ( n = 12 ), and giant nevi ( n = 7 ). Complications included extrusion in 5 patients infection in 2, poor fixation of the port in 2, and impairment of the port in 1. Our modifications were: healthy skin incision, pocket dissections larger than the expander size, slow expansion to avoid exposure, another incision in the nevi, and reliable fixation of the port to avoid its migration.
