Affiliation:
1. Puig Medical Group, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin
Abstract
Presented is a prospective study of 80 scalp reductions performed incorporating the Frechet Scalp Extender into the treatment plan. Careful measurement of the pre- and postoperative bald area and the tissue removed indicates that the Frechet Extender is an effective tool and indeed increases the amount of bald area removed with multiple scalp reductions by 30%. That the compression of the bald scalp by the extender causes a thickening of the scalp by 72% has been demonstrated. The impact that the incomplete excision of this thickened bald scalp may have on the incidence of stretchback requires further study. Caution must be taken when incorporating extender devices into treatment plans that do not include total excision of the bald area.