Repeated skin expansion to resurface a massive thigh wound.

We report here a patient who sustained posttraumatic skin and soft-tissue loss of the right thigh. Replacement of approximately 750 cm2 of split-thickness skin graft with adjacent skin serially expanded and advanced demonstrates the applicability of this technique to cover large tissue defects. Despite infection and exposure, we believe that expansion can proceed safely on an outpatient basis, providing that systemic toxicity does not develop and the exposure does not mechanically preclude expansion.