Baş ve Boyun Bölgesi Deformitelerinde Doku Genişletici Uygulaması: 7 Yıllık Deneyim

Introduction: Despite all the advances in surgical techniques, repair of deformities with tissue expanders have not lost their importance. Treatment of head and neck region deformities with tissue expanders between 2006 and 2013 are presented in this article. Material and Methods: 17 patients with head and neck deformities were operated with 25 tissue expanders between January 2006 and March 2013. The mean age of patients was 22 years (19-27). Etiological factors about patients were as follows: post-burn scar deformity (11 patients), skin grafting after trauma (5 patients), scar tissue formation after secondary healing (1 patient), and deformity after tumor excision (1 patient). Drains were used in all patients and removed average of 1.5 days (1-3). The average initialization time for expansion was 6 days following the surgery (5-7). Results: Average expansion volume and expansion time were 200 cc (100-400) and 17 days (15-23). In the follow-up, failure of two ports and one expander exposition were observed (17%). Complications of tissue expansion did not interfere the success rate of the performed operation. Hematoma or infections were not observed in follow up. Mean follow-up time was 12 months (6-15). Result: The tissue expander applications of the head and neck region deformities are highly successful if patients are appropriately selected. Keywords: Tissue expander, Tissue expansion, Head and Neck