Clinical Efficacy of an Indigenously Developed Tissue Expander.

Reconstruction of tissue defects in face with the similar kind of tissue is very challenging as the skin of the other parts of the body does not match properly. Recently tissue expansion using tissue expander is being used more frequently in reconstructive surgery for the treatment of a variety of problems in both children and adults. The concept of tissue expansion has opened a whole new frontier in reconstructive surgery. The tissue expansion technique is advantageous in facial reconstruction because it makes it possible to resurface wider defects with neighbouring skin that is similar in colour and texture. Conventional tissue expansion may result in epidermal hypertrophy, decreased dermal muscle and adipose thickness, bone resorption. To overcome such problem we have developed a tissue expander using medical grade silicone with a mixture of biocompatible materials which is highly flexible and cost effective. To determine the efficacy of new tissue expander requires animal experimentation followed by clinical trial. The result obtained from the clinical trial shows its biocompatibility as well as effectiveness.