Soft tissue expansion prior to arthroplasty in the multiply-operated knee. A new method of preventing catastrophic skin problems.

Ten knees in nine patients underwent gradual soft tissue expansion prior to major knee surgery. All patients had multiple prior operative procedures around the knee. The resultant multiple skin incisions were felt to potentially jeopardize the postoperative status of the soft tissues. Each knee underwent the surgical placement of a tissue expander through a bed of adjacent healthy soft tissue followed by the gradual inflation of the expander over an average of 64.5 days. The average volume of soft tissue expansion was 313.7 mL per knee. Subsequent major knee surgery requiring an arthrotomy was performed at the time of expander removal followed by uncomplicated soft tissue closure. All wounds healed without any complications.