Palliative Surgery for Advanced Fungating Skin Cancers
Palliative Surgery for Advanced Fungating Skin Cancers
Advanced skin cancers sometimes develop complex wounds with associated pain, infection, malodor, massive discharge, and bleeding, which distresses patients and decreases his or her quality of life (QoL). The following cases presented large fungating skin ulcers that were treated with palliative abrasion along with wound resurfacing ing using free skin grafting. Palliative surgery allowed the patients to lead a more comfortable daily life at home with family. Simple palliative surgery can improve the QoL of terminal patients by reducing wound secretion, odors, and the risk of infection, and consequently, can improve nutritional status and their overall health condition.
Approximately 5%–10% of patients with breast cancer and advanced skin cancer will develop a fungating wound. If the cancer is in an advanced stage, curative treatment such as radical abrasion is often not preferred, but a range of palliative radiotherapy and drug therapy may be attempted. In these cases, a chronic complex wound that is typically infected, malodorous, and has massive discharge and bleeding, must be treated with local wound management techniques. The goal of treatment should be to optimize QoL in these terminal patients, but fungating wounds sometimes cause a patient distress and prevent him or her from living at home.
Two cases of large fungating ulcers resulting from breast cancer and malignant melanoma, which were treated with palliative resection and free skin grafting, are presented. The outcome, in terms of improving each patient's QoL, was successful in both cases.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Advanced skin cancers sometimes develop complex wounds with associated pain, infection, malodor, massive discharge, and bleeding, which distresses patients and decreases his or her quality of life (QoL). The following cases presented large fungating skin ulcers that were treated with palliative abrasion along with wound resurfacing ing using free skin grafting. Palliative surgery allowed the patients to lead a more comfortable daily life at home with family. Simple palliative surgery can improve the QoL of terminal patients by reducing wound secretion, odors, and the risk of infection, and consequently, can improve nutritional status and their overall health condition.
Introduction
Approximately 5%–10% of patients with breast cancer and advanced skin cancer will develop a fungating wound. If the cancer is in an advanced stage, curative treatment such as radical abrasion is often not preferred, but a range of palliative radiotherapy and drug therapy may be attempted. In these cases, a chronic complex wound that is typically infected, malodorous, and has massive discharge and bleeding, must be treated with local wound management techniques. The goal of treatment should be to optimize QoL in these terminal patients, but fungating wounds sometimes cause a patient distress and prevent him or her from living at home.
Two cases of large fungating ulcers resulting from breast cancer and malignant melanoma, which were treated with palliative resection and free skin grafting, are presented. The outcome, in terms of improving each patient's QoL, was successful in both cases.
