Scalp Tissue Expansion Above a Custom-Made Hydroxyapatite Cranial Implant to Correct Sequelar Alopecia on a Transposition Flap.
BACKGROUND
Resection of cranial tumors involving both bone and scalp tissue may require the recruitment of soft tissue using a flap above the bone reconstruction. When a transposition flap has been chosen, the alopecia zone on the donor site may be difficult to treat afterward. Scalp expansion is the gold standard in these situations, but this has never been described above cranial implants. We report the first case of a patient who underwent a scalp tissue expansion above a custom-made hydroxyapatite cranial implant to correct sequelar alopecia.


METHODS
A 30-year-old man presented with a dermatofibrosarcoma of the scalp with bone invasion. A cranioplasty with a custom-made hydroxyapatite implant and a transposition flap were performed. Although healing was achieved, the donor site of the transposition flap left a 9 × 13 cm sequelar alopecia area on the vertex. To correct it, a rectangular 340-cm3expander was partially placed above the cranial implant and under the transposition flap. A second 120-cm3expander was put on the contralateral temporal region. The expansion was successful. No expander infection, cranial implant displacement, or fracture on imaging performed during the follow-up period was detected. The alopecia zone was entirely excised. The patient was very satisfied with the cosmetic result.


CONCLUSIONS
Tissue expansion above hydroxyapatite implants may be of concern to the physician because of the risk of infection and rupture of the cranial implant. With this clinical case, we emphasize some precautions to prevent these issues.
Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Hospital Charles Nicolle, University of Rouen, Rouen, France; Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Hospital Sud, University of Rennes 1, Rennes, France. Electronic address: raphaelcarloni@hotmail.com.
Raphael
R
Carloni
Department of Plastic Surgery and Burn Surgery, Hôpital Lapeyronie, Montpellier University Hospital, Montpellier, France.
Christian
C
Herlin
STROMAlab, UMR5273 CNRS/UPS/EFS-INSERM U1031, Rangueil Hospital, Toulouse, France; Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Rangueil Hospital, Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse, France.
Benoit
B
Chaput
Department of Maxillofacial, Plastic, Reconstructive and Cosmetic Surgery, Nancy University Hospital, 5400, Nancy, France; EA 7299, ETHOS, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Lorraine, France.
Antoine
A
De Runz
Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Hospital Sud, University of Rennes 1, Rennes, France.
E
E
Watier
Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Hospital Sud, University of Rennes 1, Rennes, France; INSERM U917, University of Rennes 1, Rennes, France; SITI Laboratory, Etablissement Français du Sang Bretagne, Rennes University Hospital, Rennes, France.
Nicolas
N
Bertheuil
D000328:Adult; D000505:Alopecia / Q000601:surgery*; D003399:Craniotomy; D018223:Dermatofibrosarcoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D017886:Durapatite; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D012535:Scalp / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D012886:Skull / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D012888:Skull Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D015626:Tissue Expansion / Q000379:methods*
D017886:Durapatite
Alopecia; Calvarial reconstruction; Cranioplasty; Tissue expansion; Transposition flap