FIELD

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to tissue expanders.

BACKGROUND

Tissue expanders are used to assist in stretching skin of a subject to provide a tissue pocket or capsule having an appropriate size to accommodate a permanent implant, such as a breast implant. In typical usage, the tissue expander is implanted into a subject to help prepare the subject to receive a permanent implant. The tissue expander may be expanded by introducing additional material therein, e.g., saline, until the desired size of the pocket or capsule is achieved, at which point the tissue expander may be removed. A permanent implant may then be implanted into the subject. Tissue expanders were first developed and used in human patients during the mid 1970s. Nordström, Rolf E. A.,Tissue Expansion3 (1996).

In typical use, a health care provider, likely a plastic surgeon, places a tissue expander within a tissue pocket of a subject during a surgical procedure conducted in an operating room. At that time, the tissue expander is partially filled, e.g., halfway, by a healthcare provider (e.g., the plastic surgeon or a nurse). The remaining volume gets filled gradually, over multiple office visits by the subject to her healthcare provider, such as the plastic surgeon.

SUMMARY

A tissue expander is disclosed herein. The tissue expander may comprise a shell defining a chamber, which may be a single chamber. The shell may include a flexible wall and a port disposed through the flexible wall having a first egress into the chamber. The shell may also include a channel disposed through the flexible wall having a second egress into the chamber. The port may be an injection port, such as an integrated injection port. The channel may include a valve therein. The valve may be a slitted membrane or a diaphragm valve.

The tissue expander may be used according to the following method and variations. The tissue expander may be provided. A first syringe containing a first volume of a liquid, e.g., a sterile saline solution, may be connected to the chamber of the tissue expander, e.g., via the channel. The first volume of liquid may then be injected from the first syringe into the chamber. The injection of liquid from the first syringe may be performed at a rate of between approximately 5 milliliters per second and twenty milliliters per second, e.g., at least approximately 12 milliliters per second. A second syringe containing a second volume of the liquid may be connected to the chamber via the port. A second volume of the liquid may then be injected from the second syringe into the chamber. The second volume of the liquid may be injected at least approximately one week after the first volume of liquid is injected.

