The Partial Tissue Expansions

Abstract

Background: Tissue expanders are usually inflated with saline. We attempted to mitigate the side effects of the weight of the tissue expanders by replacing some of the saline with air. Methods: Of the 23 patients who were implanted with tissue expanders at our hospital, 7 complained of discomfort resulting from awareness of implant expansion and consciousness of implant weight, and 3 showed marked malposition. For these 10 patients, we replaced some of the saline with air to alleviate their symptoms. Results: Symptoms improved in all 10 patients without complications, and their tissue expanders were eventually replaced with permanent implants. Conclusions: No difference was observed between the 10 patients with tissue expanders inflated partially with air and the 13 for whom, only saline was used. Inflating tissue expanders with a mixture of air and saline is a good way to prevent side effects related to expander weight.