Selective use of serial expansion in breast reconstruction.

The advent of serial expansion adds a new dimension to the armamentarium of the plastic surgeon. While latissimus dorsi and rectus abdominis flaps remain invaluable in patients with severe tissue deficiency, they are unnecessary in most patients. The judicious use of the Radovan prosthesis has enabled us to place adequate-sized prostheses entirely beneath the chest-wall musculature. It has also allowed us to better control reconstruction in other developmental and traumatic deformities of the breast.