Ten technical considerations revisited in tissue expansion

Tissue expansion is a versatile tool in resurfacing soft tissue defects of the breast, extremity, head and neck that involves the placement of a temporary implant adjacent to a soft tissue defect. Incremental expansion exploits the viscoelastic properties of skin to generate a skin flap that can be used to resurface defects and provide cover over permanent protheses. Infection, implant extrusion and skin necrosis are recognized complications of tissue expansion. This article presents a revised framework of 10 technical factors to reduce the risk of complications and optimize outcomes with tissue expansion using an illustrative case presentation.