Annals of plastic surgery
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In 20 patients with burn scars and 1 patient with a fresh burn, 33 tissue expanders were implanted. In 16 patients, the expansion fulfilled the goal set with the help of 27 expanders. The results are very satisfactory, but the effort of treatment and the trouble are substantial. ⋯ Hematomas should be evacuated early (we drained most expanders), and incidences of leakage can be diminished by using larger valves. Small incisions in healthy tissue for expander insertion may lead to faster onset of expansion, thus, shortening the procedure. Late widening of scars was found only once, perhaps due to a rather long duration of expansion, averaging 13 weeks.