Plastic Surgery and Reconstruction After Skin Cancer
Skin is the largest organ in your body and the most perceptible to others.
Like other organs, your skin is at risk of developing cancer. There are
many different treatment options for common skin cancers. Reconstruction
is an important part of skin cancer treatment and recovery.
Our fellowship-trained surgeons are experts in advanced microscopic surgical techniques that can restore form and function to affected areas while minimizing scarring and disfigurement. They are also training the next generation of surgeons as faculty members of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. They can help you feel like yourself again after cancer.
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital’s partnership with The Cancer Institute of New Jersey puts the resources of the state’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)–designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in your corner.
Treatment and Care
Common skin cancers include basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma. There are many different options for removing skin cancer depending on size, cancer location, and physician specialty. Different types of skin cancer may be removed using various methods such as excision, cryotherapy (freezing), laser surgery, and Mohs surgery. Mohs surgery, in which layers of cancerous skin are excised one at a time and reviewed under a microscope to determine when all the cancer has been removed, is performed by a specially-trained dermatologist.
Reconstruction options following skin cancer removal range from skin grafts, to tissue flaps to masking scars and filling in missing tissue.
Our plastic surgeons work in tandem with dermatologists and cancer surgeons to reconstruct the skin either at the same time as cancer surgery or shortly following. We can also help reconstruct scars or irregularities following initial skin cancer surgeries.
Talk to one of our doctors today to determine which treatment is best for you.