Applying advanced plastic surgery to over 90-year old cancer patient

Photo: Hospital of Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy 

It was a male patient (92 years old), coming from a Ta Oi ethnic group in A Roang commune (A Luoi district). He had a femoral bone cancer that had one third of a tumor removed two years ago. Recently, the tumor has developed ulcers and increased in size at the thigh area. The patient was admitted to the hospital with a large patch at the buttock area of 20x15cm in size, causing walking difficulty due to painful compression of the large tumor.

After receiving careful physical examination and having necessary laboratory tests, the patient was treated to improve his health status; inter-consultation was carried out among Departments of Anesthesiology, Internal Medicine and Plastic Surgery to plan an operation after more than one week at the hospital.

The surgery lasted nearly 3 hours, the tumor was exposed to be removed completely and doctors used thigh flap covering soft tissue defect successfully according to the plan. On the fifth day after surgery, the patient was healthy and the flap was good. Currently, the patient continues to be monitored and is expected to be discharged in the next 3 or 5 days. In addition to professional support, the Department mobilized additional funding to support meals, daily activities for patients.

Dr. Le Hong Phuc (M.Sc.), Deputy Head of Department of Orthopedics – Thoracic Surgery, in charge of the Plastic Surgery Unit (Hospital of Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy) who was also the lead surgeon of this case, shared: “The success of the surgery has contributed to improving the quality of life for elderly patients with extensive invasive cancer, bringing hope and prolonging life as well as improving the quality of life for patients.”

By Huu Phuc