Tissue Expansion for Closure of the Donor Site of a Distant Pedicle Flap

Abstract

RM Zuker, C Fielding, S Beatty. Tissue expansion for closure of the donor site of a distant pedicle flap. Can J Plast Surg 1994; 2(4):155-158. Tissue expansion continues to provide new and exciting applications in reconstructive surgery. Tissue expansion has allowed for an increase in size of specialized tissue, particularly about the head and neck. It has also been demonstrated that the blood supply of pedicle flaps can be augmented, thus extending the surviving length of expanded flaps. Recently tissue expansion has been used with free flap transfer to expand the amount of tissue to be transferred and to facilitate donor site closure. In certain situations free tissue transfer may not be recommended and pedicle flap and particularly cross leg and cross thigh flaps are required. In addition to the prolonged unnatural positioning of the patient, the donor defect of these flaps has been harshly criticized. In this report tissue expansion is used to provide adequate tissue for direct closure of the donor defect thus minimizing the deformity.