Tissue expansion

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Tissue expansion is a technique used by plastic, maxillofacial, and reconstructive surgeons to cause the body to grow additional skin, bone, or other tissues. Other biological phenomena such as tissue inflammation can also be considered expansion (see tissue inflammation below).

Skin expansion

Skin expansion is a common surgical procedure to grow extra skin through controlled mechanical overstretch. It creates skin that matches the color, texture, and thickness of the surrounding tissue, while minimizing scars and risk of rejection.

When skin is stretched beyond its physiological limit, mechanotransduction pathways are activated. This leads to cell growth as well as to the formation of new cells.

The growth of tissue is permanent, but will retract to some degree when the tension is removed.

Mechanics of skin expansion

Stretching the skin beyond normal expansion invokes several mechanotransduction pathways which increase [[[mitosis| mitotic]] activity and promote collagen synthesis. As a result, the skin surface area increases.

Foreskin restoration

Tissue expansion has also been used for the technique of foreskin restoration, which is usually non-surgical and applies tension externally using specialized devices to replace circumcised tissues with new cells.

Non-surgical tissue expansion techniques can expand one's surviving penile skin, making it a longer tube so it can function like a foreskin. Men who have been circumcised stretch and apply tension to their shaft and foreskin remnants to expand and elongate tissue in efforts to produce a functional foreskin. This form of tissue expansion can take years, as the amount of skin growth required is typically around 15 square inches.This process does not regenerate or restore the function of the frenulum or the ridged band. It does, however, typically involve growing more preputial mucosa which serves to moisten and protect the glans. Men who have restored their foreskin typically notice increased sensitivity and dekeratinization of the glans.