title: Tissue expander-assisted ventral hernia repair for the skin-grafted damage control abdomen.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe a novel technique using tissue expanders that allows skin coverage over large ventral hernia repairs after damage control laparotomy, including patients with stomas.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective study of a single author's experience with the technique.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Tissue expanders were placed in the lateral abdominal wall skin adjacent to stomas and expanded over a short 6-week course. The expanders successfully stretched the skin to provide coverage over the large ventral hernia mesh repairs without infectious complications.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The described technique is well tolerated by patients and very useful to provide skin coverage over large ventral hernia defects without infectious complications.
authors.affiliation: Division of Trauma Surgery, Hurley Medical Center, Flint, MI, 48503, USA, heartandbones@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: John Alfred
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Carr
mesh_terms: D000007:Abdominal Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D003082:Colectomy; D006555:Hernia, Ventral / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D059685:Herniorrhaphy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007081:Ileostomy; D007813:Laparotomy; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D015626:Tissue Expansion / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D015625:Tissue Expansion Devices; D016896:Treatment Outcome