| With the gradual increase in volume of the expander,
the overlying skin area increases (tissue relaxation and stress creep).
Once the skin has achieved the required area, the expanders are removed.
The extra skin is then mobilised into the area to be covered using a geometrically
designed skin flap.
Tissue expansion has been used in many clinical situations including :
Breast reconstruction
Both immediate and delayed reconstruction.
The expander is the actual breast prosthesis. The expander can be over
inflated then deflated to reproduce a natural looking breast. Single or
2 stage operations are possible.
The effect of tissue expansion is especially useful in delayed breast
reconstructions. The extra skin which is achieved replaces that lost at
the time of the mastectomy.
Scar revision
Areas of scarring can be resurfaced
with non scarred skin. This is used extensively for burns scars or areas
of alopecia (no hair) on the scalp. The scalp skin can be expanded by 100%
without thinning of hairs being noticeable.
Congenital naevi
Tissue expansion can also be
used to resurface large areas in children who have large congenital naevi
(birthmarks) e.g. the typical bathing trunk naevi. Usually multi stages
operations are required.
Example of an expander placed in the scalp to allow removal an area of
alopecia.
This
was taken immediately before the expander was removed.
If you roll over
the image you will see the same patient at the end of the procedure. |
