The use of tissue expanders in the correction of avulsive injuries of the mandible: report of two cases.

Two cases illustrating successful use of tissue expanders to correct both soft and bony defects of the facial region are presented. The tissue expanders allow the development of a flap that has the same color and texture as the lost tissue. It also precludes the need of a distantly developed flap with its associated morbidity. The highly vascular fibrous capsule developed around the expander provides the advantage of initially greater blood supply and increased bulk for coverage of a bone graft. Although this is temporary in nature, it provides a desirable receptor bed during the critical period of bony union. The ready availability of adjacent tissue, the esthetic considerations, and the comparative reduction in morbidity when compared with use of distant flaps makes the use of tissue expanders an attractive technique in maxillofacial reconstruction.