Adjuncts to scalp reduction surgery. Intraoperative tissue expanders and hyaluronidase.

Scalp reduction has become an important part of the cosmetic surgeon's armamentarium in the treatment of male pattern alopecia. Recently, the use of two-stage tissue expansion has been advocated for scalp reduction. Intraoperative tissue expansion obviates many of the disadvantages of delayed expansion and increases the yield of excised scalp by 20-30% over standard reduction techniques in the 20 patients studied. The addition of hyaluronidase to the local anesthetic facilitates its diffusion, enhancing anesthesia and the ease of dissection. Therefore, the use of intraoperative tissue expansion and the addition of hyaluronidase to the local anesthetic are two separate adjuncts to scalp reduction surgery.