Modeling Growth in Tissue Expansion

Skin expansion enables the correction of birthmarks, burn injuries, and reconstruction of breasts after tumor removal. The astonishing properties of human skin allow us to implant and inflate a balloon expander next to a defect to grow skin with matching color, texture, hairiness, and thickness while minimizing the risk for rejection and scaring³. In order to grow skin in situ, the balloon expander is placed in a subcutaneous pocket of approximately the expander size and shape, see Figure 1. Inflating the balloon gradually between four to eight weeks after surgery triggers growth by overstretching the skin.