Immediate placement of tissue expanders in the management of large excisional defects on the face

Where excision of a facial lesion leaves a defect too large for local flap reconstruction, tissue expansion is frequently a more desirable option than a skin graft, providing as it does tissue which exactly matches that which has been lost. For malignant skin lesions where removal should not be delayed by preliminary expansion of the flap, the expander can be placed simultaneously with tumour excision thus keeping the reconstruction to two stages. A temporary skin graft is employed in the interim. Our experience with this approach in five patients with large facial malignancies is presented and discussed.