Abstract:

The case is a 10-year-old male patient with facial scar deformity, who was admitted to the hospital 6 years after burns. Bilateral soft tissue expanders were implanted on his neck in order to improve facial scars. Later, the local hypertonicity, thinning of the skin and blood flow disorder of the expanded skin during the water injection were found and the existing treatments were not effective. The patient was re-admitted to hospital and a customized neck expander was replaced under local anesthesia to change the local stress of the weak point and complete further expansion. The expander had a water injection volume of 1 200 mL in the end. After that, the flap transfer repair operation was successfully completed. The clinical data of the case and the treatment of blood flow disorder caused by the implantation of the expander can provide reference for other surgeons.

Key words: skin and soft tissue expander, expansion stress, blood flow disorder