Implantation of a soft-tissue expander before operation for club foot in children

Primary skin closure after surgery for club foot in children can be difficu lt especially in revision operations. Between 1990 and 1996 a soft-tissue e xpander was implanted in 13 feet before such procedures. Two were primary o perations and 11 were revisions, A standard technique was used for implanta tion of the expander, Skin augmentation was successful in 11 cases, There w as failure of one expander and one case of wound infection, Sufficient stab le skin could be gained at an average of five weeks, Primary skin closure a fter surgery was achieved in 12 cases, We conclude that soft-tissue expansion can be used successfully before exte nsive surgery for club foot. The method should be reserved for revision pro cedures and for older children, The technique is not very demanding, but re quires experience to achieve successful results.