Scar Tissue Expansion for the Treatment of Scar Contracture.

Han, Sang Baek; Park, Chul Gyoo; Lee, Yoon Ho; Minn, Kyung Won

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons 1999;26(2):287-291.
Published online March 1, 1999.

Scar Tissue Expansion for the Treatment of Scar Contracture.

Sang Baek Han, Chul Gyoo Park, Yoon Ho Lee, Kyung Won Minn

Abstract

The treatment of scar contracture has a relatively long history in the department of plastic surgery. Flap surgery, including Z-plasty and skin graft has been a common surgical modality for the treatment of scar contracture. However, the 'deficiency' of the tissue is basically responsible for the limitations of this treatment. The concept of tissue expansion has contributed to the solution of tissue deficiency and thus tissue expansion is currently widely used for various purposes in plastic and reconstructive surgery. Nevertheless, tissue expansion has not yet clearly solved the problems in cases of seven deficiency of surrounding normal tissues, or in cases of multiple and diffuse scar contracture. We have tried to 'expand the scar tissue' to overcome these limitations. The authors 'several decades of experience in tissue expansion has taught us to find the usefulness of incidentally expanded scar tissues. Thirty-one patients with scar contracture urderwent expansion of surrounding normal and/or scar tissues, including 5 cases of pure scar tissue expansion. The postoperative results were satisfactory with a minimal complication rate. In conclusion, scar tissue expansion was usefully applicable for the scar contracture with no surrounding normal tissues. Scar tissue could be expanded safely and sufficiently, designed to various flaps, and the flap survival was reasonable. The functional and aesthetic quality of the scar tissue seems to improve following tissue expansion. In addition, meticulous planning is essential from the initial operation, including the area of expander insertion, flap design considering the aesthetic unit and functional aspect.