Management of Strip Scars from Previous Transplant

 If someone has a tight scalp, can they at least use the balloon expander to increase laxity to obtain a strip? Or if they are revising a big strip scar when the skin is tight, can they use the expander to excise the scar without leading to another big scar?

Tight scalps usually don’t cause scarring unless a surgeon closes it under tension; however, loose scalps have a paradoxical laxity that often produces more scars, possibly because there is more elastin in the collagen of the scalp skin. Expanders can be used for very wide scars that tend to get wider when they are excised, but that requires the judgment of a good, experienced surgeon.