Tissue Expander in Oral And Maxillofacial Surgery

Many techniques have evolved in management of maxillofacial defects which include both hard and soft tissue augmentation or implantation with the help of bone graft or bone substitute and soft tissue flaps. By and large, tissue expansion is employed to achieve desired expansion of a future rotation, transposition or advancement flap, or to produce the desired expanded area for harvesting full-thickness skin grafts. Tissue expansion has also been employed to expand myocutaneous and free flaps. It has been successfully employed to address a variety of defects including birth defects, burn injuries, traumatic wounds, and reconstruction of mid-facial defects after tumor removal. It is certainly the ideal strategy to grow skin that matches the color, texture, hair bearing capability, and thickness of the surrounding healthy skin, while ensuring easy resurfacing of the donor site also. Complications are rare and usually avoidable with careful attention and technique.