Intraoperative or interoperative longitudinal tissue expander

摘要

An improved inflatable longitudinal expander used in reconstructive surgery for lengthening soft tissue. A retaining disk, a central portion of which is affixed to the top of an inflatable expansion chamber, wraps around and securely holds the soft tissue to be expanded. The retaining disk is fastened in place with a single suture. Once the soft tissue is safely enclosed within the envelope formed by the retaining disk, the tissue expander is inflated with saline solution injected through a self- sealing injection port causing the inflatable expansion chamber to expand and the soft tissue to be stretched and lengthened. The expander, which may be used intraoperatively or implanted for interoperative use, is particularly adapted for either short or long- term stretching of tubular or linear tissues such as blood vessels, fallopian tubes or nerves.