Devastating facial skin cancer surgery offers miraculous results

 

[caption id="attachment_20734" align="alignleft" width="300"] Before and after paramedian flap surgery[/caption]

Carol Forsloff----Skin cancer can have devastating consequences, from malignant melanoma that can cause death to disfigurement.  But modern medicine often restores the worst of conditions, as demonstrated by a recent case of skin cancer that spread to encompass much of the face, demonstrating the surgeon’s brilliance and the wonder and value of good care.

It is that kind of care that one would wish for skin cancer surgery, much of which just involves incision of a small sore somewhere.   In some cases, however, skin cancer can be so virulent and destructive of tissue, even if it appears small, that it can create pain and problems for many.

One of the more difficult facial reconstructive surgeries is the paramedian forehead flap.  This type of surgery is actually done to reconstruct the problems caused by skin cancer on the nose, especially the kind that is growing and occupies a prominent selection in the nasal area.

The surgery uses skin from the forehead over the eyebrow.  It is then moved vertically and used to replace nasal tissue from the incision where the cancer has been removed.  The technique is actually hundreds of years old, yet it has been modified and perfected over the years by many doctors and is now a popular way of repairing nose defects.  It is considered the most thorough type of surgery for that type of defect, although it requires a lengthy recovery and scarring of the forehead and the nose.  It also causes considerable facial bleeding for many people and the need to be sedentary for some time.

Each case is different, but each also has the subsequent value of having a greater likelihood that the look of the nose will match the skin tones of the rest of the face.

Often with older people, the surgeon may use another section of the face to repair the nose, because of the pain and disability caused by this more comprehensive approach using the medial flap.  However, with sufficient instruction in care, the senior can cope and get through the operation and its aftermath.

Recovery can take a few months, and even longer for the scars to heal.  The best follow up treatment involves massage, rest and proper skin care.  The result can be exceptional with a talented surgeon, a hopeful attitude and that quality aftercare.

For those who fear the worst, it is potentially going to be that “best outcome” for nose surgery.  But the best prevention, to avoid that surgery, are hats and sunscreens, something older folks did not know many years ago, but is said repeatedly in advertisements and articles, that good advice that can stop someone from having skin cancer surgery at all.