Intraoperative tissue expansion using a Foley catheter following excision of a basal cell carcinoma.

Chronic tissue expansion has gained an accepted role in reconstructive surgery. Recently, intraoperative tissue expansion (rapid expansion) has been introduced as an alternate technique for recruitment of additional tissue to aid in wound closure. At the present time, the available expanders are designed for single use and then must be discarded; thus they are relatively expensive. We present the use of the readily accessible Foley catheter as a suitable, inexpensive, safe, and practical device for intraoperative tissue expansion.