We see many patients who need quite advanced surgery to reconstruct extensive skin trauma or repair defects after the resection of large areas of skin post cancer removal. With good knowledge of local skin blood supply, skin anatomy and advanced surgical techniques it is often possible to get good results in these cases.
The following before and after images show some patients who have had surgery to repair quite large skin defects that otherwise would have required limb amputations or been euthanised.
Reconstruction of the area using a skin fold advancement flap
Wound after necrotic/dead skin debrided
Healthy skin from the abdomen is used in a caudal superficial epigastric skin flap technique where the blood supply remains attached to the skin and the area is rotated to cover the defect, the donor area has enough spare skin to close over the new defect.
Immediate post-surgery
6 weeks post-surgery, the flap has healed well
Mass over hip being measured pre-surgery
Patient prepared for surgery with bullseye marks indicating tumour and area of skin to resect on the left and tongue shaped skin flap to cover the defect on the right.
Immediate post surgery – Deep Circumflex Iliac axial pattern flap
The cancer is being removed from the nose, the skin flap (superficial temporal skin flap) has been highlighted on the top of the head.
Defect after cancer removal
Immediate post-surgery repair
2 months post surgery
Pre surgery – cancer on elbow, Thoracodorsal skin flap highlighted, black dot pinpoints blood supply to skin which must be preserved
Tumour removed and skin flap prepared
Skin flap rotated into position
2 months post-surgery
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