Treatment of a congenital melanocytic nevus on the forehead with immediate tissue expansion technique: a three-year follow-up.
The aim of this case report was to determine the method and basic principles of immediate tissue expansion using a Foley catheter in the forehead region for treating a medium-sized congenital melanocytic nevus. A 4-year-old child presented with a supraorbitally located forehead congenital melanocytic nevus, close to the midline. Total excision and reconstruction with intraoperatively expanded forehead skin below the hairline was performed. Intraoperative tissue expansion using a Foley catheter allowed us to obtain expanded and enhanced local tissue, which had tissue characteristics similar to those of the forehead skin, and thus closure of a medium-sized defect without distorting important anatomic structures such as the brow and frontal hairline was possible. Of the two methods of tissue expansion, immediate expansion using a Foley catheter is a good alternative in single-stage reconstruction of head and neck defects because it has the advantage of omnidirectional expansion.
Department of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Ataturk Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. medemirseren@yahoo.com
M Erol
ME
Demirseren
Candemir
C
Ceran
D Deniz
DD
Demirseren
D002675:Child, Preschool; D005153:Facial Neoplasms / Q000151:congenital / Q000601:surgery*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005546:Forehead; D006801:Humans; D009508:Nevus, Pigmented / Q000151:congenital / Q000601:surgery*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000151:congenital / Q000601:surgery*; D015626:Tissue Expansion / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome