The osmotic tissue expander: a three-year clinical experience.

Closure of defects after trauma or excision of neoplasms is a basic skill in plastic surgery. Local, regional and distant flaps lead to additional scars. Skin recruitment by serial excision or skin expansion is a less damaging option for defects that must be closed. Advantages of tissue expansion include good colour and texture match. Disadvantages are the need for a second operation, use of an implant with the attendant risk of infection, time needed for inflation of the device, repeat visits to the clinic, and punctures to inflate the expander. To overcome the last disadvantage, an osmotic expander was developed in Germany in 1999 by OSMED GmbH (Ilmenau).