Intraoperative Tissue Expansion Using a Foley Catheter for a Scalp Defect: Technical Note

Area of Science:

• Neurosurgery
• Surgical Techniques
• Tissue Expansion

Background:

• Primary closure of neurosurgical wounds can be challenging due to limited scalp elasticity or large defects.
• Traditional methods may not always be feasible for complex scalp closures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe an easily accomplished, economical technique for intraoperative tissue expansion.
• To evaluate the efficacy of using a Foley catheter for scalp tissue expansion in neurosurgery.

Main Methods:

• A subcutaneous pocket is created around the skin defect.
• A 20-French Foley catheter balloon is inflated with 10-30 mL saline cyclically (5 min inflation, 3 min deflation).

Main Results:

• The technique was applied to 5 patients with large scalp defects between November 2018 and February 2020.
• Successful primary wound closure was achieved in all patients.
• Excellent postoperative wound healing was observed in all cases.

Conclusions:

• Intraoperative tissue expansion with a Foley catheter is an effective, readily available, and economical method for neurosurgical wound closure.
• This technique facilitates primary closure of surgical wounds with minimal tension.