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The intensive dermotension method for plastic closure of spacious wound defects of various etiology, using full-bodied cutaneous flap, was elaborated to guarantee the obtaining of plastic material volumes needed in more short terms in comparison with traditional dermotension method. The method permits to close a spacious wound defect in 93.8% of observations.
PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to investigate how in vivo expanded urothelium can be transplanted onto a prefabricated capsule-pouch for urinary reconstruction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Urothelial cells from 40 rats were harvested for culture. A tissue expander was used to induce a capsule-pouch on which the cell culture were reimplanted ten days later. As delivery vehicle we compared standard culture media and fibrin glue. RESULTS: The histology demonstrated viable, multilayered clusters of urothelium cells only in the group using the fibrin glue delivery vehicle. CONCLUSION: We conclude that cultured urothelial cells can be successfully reimplanted onto a prefabricated capsule-pouch via fibrin glue, showing potential for urinary reconstructions.
Skin expansion material has progressed and now covers all needs in plastic and reconstructive surgery. Breast reconstruction occupies a special place among expansion techniques and requires specific material. The skin expansion technique was approved by French Social Security in 1995 and is now covered in both the public and private sectors. The skin expansion protocol is rigorous with no room for improvisation. It is only in this way that the quality of the result justifies the use of this technique.
The authors are members of the surgical staff of a central hospital specialized in the treatment of cancer (Portuguese Institute of Oncology-Francisco Gentil, Lisboa). They present their experience as plastic and reconstructive surgeons, mostly in the use of current reconstructive possibilities, after excision surgery or in a later phase. The aim is to offer the best quality available, which is evaluated by morbidity, mortality and quality of life. Most of the patients are subjected to different series of oncologic therapy, which is submitted to a multidisciplinary decision.
The popularity of croissant-type tissue expanders has increased steadily during the past 5 years. Croissant-shaped expansion offers the advantage of creating a tailored skin flap that is advanced easily into an elliptical skin defect without the formation of dog-ears or without the need for backcuts in the expanded flap. Because the majority of lesions can be considered elliptical in shape, surgical removal is performed easily with an adapted croissant expander. We present a simple mathematical formula for calculating the exact dimensions of the required croissant expander. A good clinical result was obtained using this formula to design large custom-made croissant tissue expanders in a patient with a giant nevus.
In 1917, Hermann Krukenberg first reported on the conversion of a forearm stump into tongs by separating the ulna and radius in a bilateral forearm amputee. Up to now, this technique still has its indication in patients with bilateral loss of the hand or forearm. The main problem is still the coverage of both forearm branches with sensitive skin, especially when the muscles are preserved for surface management and strength. The two case reports of bilateral amputation injuries of the upper extremities illustrate our modification of the Krukenberg procedure. First, callus distraction of the short forearm stump by an external fixator was used in one case. After implantation of tissue expanders, enough sensitive skin was gained to resurface both arms of the Krukenberg forearm during a second procedure in both patients nearly completely.
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BACKGROUND: As surgeons face larger and more complex surgical defects, there is the continual search for more practical, successful, and cosmetically elegant methods for repair. Intraoperative tissue expansion is a relatively new technique built upon the fundamentals of traditional chronic tissue expansion. The Foley catheter is an inexpensive, readily available device that can be used for intraoperative tissue expansion. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to explain and demonstrate some of the uses for intraoperative tissue expansion with the Foley catheter. METHODS: A series of cycles of inflation and deflation of the Foley catheter balloon allows for gradual stretching of the skin over a period of 15 to 20 minutes. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The "tissue gain" achieved via this technique often facilitates wound repair. The Foley catheter is a useful device and a significant addition to the dermatologic surgeon's armamentarium.
The original consulting microsurgeon should be present to assist in the identification and protection of the vascular pedicle during secondary procedures on microvascular transplants. Flap elevation, trimming, and bone graft placement should be completed during a single tourniquet time, whenever possible. Flaps can easily be resutured on the original bed while the tourniquet is still inflated. Although proximal pedicle transection is possible, it should be avoided by careful planning, because the transplanted tissue cannot be predictably expected to survive, especially with muscle transplants. The distal muscle should be transected only in situations in which the muscle inset is extremely complex. Transection in the extramuscular portion of the main pedicle may require prompt microsurgical repair in immature muscle transplants. The safest approach is to avoid the pedicle whenever additional secondary procedures are necessary following free microvascular tissue transplantation. Placement of vascular pedicles such that the anterior crest of the tibia is avoided if the Ilizarov technique is required permit uncomplicated distraction osteosynthesis. Simultaneous Ilizarov fixation and microvascular tissue transfer are safe, practical procedures for limb salvage. Placement of the Ilizarov fixator at the time of microvascular transplantation provides stable fixation and eliminates the need for a subsequent anesthetic for fixator placement. This form of stabilization, when performed at the time of microvascular tissue transfer, allows the orthopedic surgeon direct visualization of the fracture site as the fixator is placed and eliminates the need for placement of the fixation device through the transplanted tissue. Tissue expansion or suction lipectomy are sometimes needed to optimize the clinical result.
A new device for expansion of soft tissue has been used successfully in an animal model. The new expander has significant advantages over the remote-port models--as well as current tissue expanders with incorporated injection sites--and deserves further clinical investigation.
Possessing viscous and elastic rheological properties, skin is viscoelastic. Mechanical creep, defined as the elongation of skin with a constant load over time beyond intrinsic extensibility, has been described as the vehicle harnessed for wound closure with presuturing, intraoperative tissue expansion, skin-stretching devices, and skin retraction with undermining. Resulting from the generation of new tissue due to a chronic stretching force, biological creep plays a role in conventional tissue expansion.
Chronic tissue expansion has gained an accepted role in reconstructive surgery. Recently, intraoperative tissue expansion (rapid expansion) has been introduced as an alternate technique for recruitment of additional tissue to aid in wound closure. At the present time, the available expanders are designed for single use and then must be discarded; thus they are relatively expensive. We present the use of the readily accessible Foley catheter as a suitable, inexpensive, safe, and practical device for intraoperative tissue expansion.
BACKGROUND: Capsular contracture occurs more frequently when immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is associated with radiotherapy (RT) in a post-mastectomy field. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of RT on surgical outcome after IBR using a single implant type. METHODS: One hundred and thirty-six breast reconstructions were studied in 114 patients: 62 reconstructions were performed using submuscular implants alone and 74 had an implant-assisted latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap using a McGhan 150 biodimensional permanent expander implant. Data were prospectively collected on capsule contracture, geometric measurements, photographic assessments and pain scores. The median follow-up was 4 (range, 2-5) years. RESULTS: The mean age of the 114 patients studied was 45 (range, 20-77) years. Forty-four reconstructed breasts received RT. Capsule formation was detected in 13/92 (14.1%) reconstructed breasts with no RT and in 17/44 (38.6%) reconstructed breasts with RT. On univariate analysis, RT was the only variable related to capsule formation (p<0.001). Significant differences in geometric measurements of symmetry were identified in patients with capsules compared with those without capsules. Photographic assessments were worse in the capsule group: mean photo score 8 (95% CI 8, 8.5) compared with the no capsule group 6.5 (95% CI 5, 7.5), p<0.001. Persistent pain two years or more after surgery was present in 8/30 patients with capsules and 1/106 with no capsule group, p<0.01. Capsule formation is three times more likely to occur after IBR in association with an RT field. However, as more than 60% of patients do not get capsules despite RT at four years, implant-assisted tissue expansion techniques using a biodimensional device is a viable breast reconstructive option in selected cases.
Infection is a serious complication of breast augmentation and tissue expansion with inflatable devices. Several reports have shown that fungi may be able to survive, colonize, and even cause infection in saline-filled devices. The mechanism of how they penetrate, spread, and colonize inside the inflatable implants is not exactly understood. The authors assessed both the expander membrane and the port in terms of leakage and penetration of Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger in an in vitro model. Thirty saline-filled expanders connected to the injection port were placed in sterile containers filled with tryptic soy broth culture medium to simulate the clinical situation in phases I and II. Intact and multipunctured ports were used in the first and second phases of the study, respectively. Either the container or the implant was inoculated with one of these fungi, and six implants in containers without fungal inoculation served as controls. As a third phase, intraluminal survival of fungi was investigated in saline-filled containers (n = 12) in 21 days. The silicone membrane, with its intact connecting tube and port, was impermeable to these fungi, whereas both fungi were able to diffuse inside-out or outside-in through the punctured ports. C. albicans did not survive beyond 18 days in saline, whereas A. niger continued to multiply at day 21. Chemical analyses of the implant fluids revealed that the contents of the culture medium diffused into the implants in phases I and II. The data show that an intact silicone membrane is impermeable to fungi, and punctured ports allow translocation of fungi into the implants. Fungi can grow and reproduce in a saline-only environment, and their survival periods differ among the species. Furthermore, their survival may be enhanced by the influx of substances through the implant shell.
OBJECTIVE: Recently, a two-dimensional Silastic Dacron stretching skin device has been developed for scalp reduction surgery. Attached subgaleally, this device stretches skin over time, while avoiding the visible volumetric distention that is typical of three-dimensional tissue expanders. Unlike three-dimensional expanders, the histological changes observed with a two-dimensional stretching device have not been described in the literature. The present study compares the histological effects of two-dimensional and three-dimensional skin tissue expansion in the porcine model. STUDY DESIGN: A university Institutional Review Board-approved study in which 16 domestic piglets were used. The 16 piglets were divided evenly into four cohorts as follows: 1, 1-week control cohort; 2, 1-week experimental cohort; 3, 4-week control cohort; and 4, 4-week experimental cohort. METHODS: Tissue expanders (three-dimensional) and Dacron Silastic tissue stretchers (two-dimensional) were surgically inserted into the lateral skin of 16 domestic pigs. Animals were killed at either 1 or 4 weeks based on group assignment. Light microscopic ocular micrometry and stereological point counting were used to determine the depth of the epidermis, dermis, and subdermal adipose tissue layer; width of the panniculus muscle; diameter of sweat gland follicles; percentage ratio of dermal collagen, blood vessels, and tissue space; and epidermal mitotic index in 100 specimens. One-way ANOVA was used to evaluate statistical differences. RESULTS: Both tissue expanders yielded increased values compared with control subjects, with respect to epidermal, dermal, and fat widths and blood vessel counts, whereas adnexal structures in the panniculus muscle width were unaltered. CONCLUSIONS: Although statistically the two types of expansion produced histologically similar changes, the degree of change varied according to the type of expander that was used and the duration of tissue expansion. Most notably, three-dimensional expansion produced more tissue gain per unit area expanded at both the 1-week and the 4-week time intervals, and early (1-week) two-dimensional tissue expansion stimulated a greater angiogenic response than three-dimensional expansion. These findings will assist the surgeon in understanding the physical changes that occur with these two forms of tissue expansion, as well as the potential clinical advantages and shortcomings of each method.
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Tissue expansion is a well established method for reconstructive surgery. As a complement, a new technique of skin extension has been developed, and tested clinically. The device consists of two holding bars with several straps placed between them, which usually is applied under local anaesthesia. It is an efficient, rapid, and inexpensive way of expanding skin before excision of skin defects. Thirty-two patients have been treated, three patients have had complications, and length of follow up ranged from 2-12 months.
Subcutaneous or submuscular tissue expansion has become a major tool for the reconstructive plastic surgeon in the repair of difficult wounds and in breast reconstruction. This technique can provide additional or replacement tissue with good match in color, sensation, texture and adnexal characteristics. A major limitation of the technique is the time required for periodic tissue expansion to the required volume in the clinical setting, typically taking from a few weeks to several months. Conceptually, the maximum rate possible for safe clinical tissue expansion would result from continuous maintenance of tissue expander pressure just below capillary filling pressure (continuous tissue expansion, CTE). A control device with this capability would have important clinical and research applications. A self-contained portable control unit (patent pending) for CTE has been designed, fabricated, and testing initiated in a dog model. The 4-lb unit includes a 250-cc fluid reservoir, power pack, pressure transducer (Microswitch 160 PC), pump (Spalding 701A), feedback circuits and memory (2-lb power pack, 2-lb controller and reservoir). Preselected constant pressure (15-50 mmHg +/- 0.1 mmHg) can be maintained in a tissue expander with a maximal flow rate of 16 cc/hr for approximately 18 hours before change of the NiCad battery pack. A digital memory records pressure and volume infused and transfers this data to a Macintosh computer after completion of expansion. Verification of this prototype control unit is presently underway. Initial data suggests that the time required for complete filling of a subcutaneous tissue expander in a dog model can be reduced to approximately 72 hours. Several potential clinical applications and variations of this device are discussed.