Enhancement of expansion of guinea pig skin by local delivery of an anticontractile agent using a new bilumen expander.

Abstract

We have shown previously that anticontractile agents used with tissue expanders provide significantly more rapid expansion in an animal model than in controls without these agents. We describe an improved method of delivery involving a perforated concentric envelope enclosing a tissue expander (type 2) in place of the single circumferential perforated catheter (type 1) used previously by us. Eleven guinea pigs received a type 1 expander and ten received a type 2 expander. The anticontractile agent theophylline was delivered in saline around each expander, and all the expanders from both groups were inflated to a similar pressure every three days for twelve days. Significantly greater expansion, in terms of total volume delivered to the expander, was noted using the type 2 expander. We conclude that the concentric device offers further improvement, probably as a result of more uniform distribution of the agent in the tissue around the expander.