Trial reportJournal of cosmetic dermatology2026
Pre-Expanded Fronto-Scalp Flaps Combined With Botulinum Toxin and Laser Therapy for Secondary Large-Scale Craniofacial Defects.
Trial report in Journal of cosmetic dermatology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Pre-Expanded Fronto-Scalp Flaps Combined With Botulinum Toxin and Laser Therapy for Secondary Large-Scale Craniofacial Defects.Journal of cosmetic dermatology · 2026Trial
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSecondary facial defects remain a primary focus in plastic surgery, particularly large defects involving the midface, forehead, and scalp. While tissue expansion of the fronto-scalp flap offers a viable reconstructive option, the lengthy expansion period and the issue of post-expansion flap retraction necessitate further solutions.
objectiveWe conducted a prospective, comparative clinical study to investigate the role of Botulinum toxin in the expansion of fronto-scalp flaps.
methodBetween December 2019 and December 2024, 40 patients with large upper facial or scalp lesions were enrolled and randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group. Control group patients underwent tissue expansion combined with postoperative laser hair removal. Experimental group patients received the same tissue expansion and laser therapy, supplemented with Botulinum toxin injections administered both preoperatively (prior to expander implantation) and postoperatively in the forehead and scalp regions. We analyzed and compared parameters including expansion efficiency, post-expansion flap retraction force, postoperative pain scores, and complication rates between the two groups.
resultsBaseline characteristics showed no significant differences between the two groups before expander implantation. During the tissue expansion phase, the experimental group demonstrated significantly higher expansion efficiency compared to the control group. At both 3 and 6 months following flap transfer surgery, the post-expansion flap retraction force was significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group. However, no significant differences were observed in pain scores or complication rates between the two groups.
conclusionOur prospective, comparative study demonstrates that Botulinum toxin application enhances the efficiency of tissue expansion using the fronto-scalp flap for reconstructing large secondary facial and scalp defects. It also reduces post-expansion flap retraction force, ultimately contributing to favorable functional and aesthetic surgical outcomes. TRAIL REGISTRATION: ChiCTR1900027702.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.