title: 15-year experience with soft tissue expansion in total knee arthroplasty.
abstract: Preoperative identification of a knee at risk for wound healing after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) allows the surgeon to apply a soft tissue expansion technique to expand the available tissue for closure and healing after TKA. A consecutive series of 64 soft tissue expansions were performed for 59 cases of conflicting incisions and 5 cases of severe angular deformity, with a mean of 3.5 previous surgeries. An average 2.1 expanders were used for a total volume of 359 mL. Expansion took a mean of 70 days during which 14 minor and 7 major complications occurred. There were 8 post-TKA complications, 5 of which required a return to the operating room. Soft tissue expansion is a safe, prophylactic technique that provides adequate coverage in this complex subset of patients.
authors.affiliation: Insall Scott Kelly Institute, New York, New York 10065, USA.
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Long
authors.forename: Charles H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Susan M Craig
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Fred D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Cushner
authors.forename: W Norman
authors.initials: WN
authors.lastname: Scott
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D015626:Tissue Expansion