[Air tissue expansion, as an alternative to physiologic serum expansion: report of 30 cases]

There has been a renewed interest in cutaneous expansion as a plastic surgery procedure. Complications and failures remain considerable despite a more adequate and standardized technique. Based on a study of 30 cases of cutaneous expansion for burns sequelae, the authors emphasize the value of using air instead of physiological saline as filling medium, to reduce the negative repercussions on quality and quantity of cutaneous gain, related to the increasing weight of the prosthesis, even for large and possibly repeated expansion volumes.