By IANS,
London : Plastic surgery is the last resort of those who have lost their nose to tumours or accidents, carrying a severe psychological and social burden.
For example, a tumour removed from the nose tip of a woman 12 years ago recurred and destroyed it completely during the next seven years. Until plastic surgeons stepped in.
Now new techniques enable plastic surgeons to treat large defects after tumour treatment or due to dog bites with a much better cosmetic result, according to an Eurekalert release.
In smaller wounds, the surgeon can do the reconstruction within a single operation. If more than a quarter of the nose has been destroyed, the limitations of this method have been reached: The patient will remain disfigured even after surgery.
Better aesthetic results can be reached by performing several surgical procedures in succession. However, sometimes a satisfactory result can be achieved only by means of amputation and subsequent reconstruction of the severely damaged nose.
Helmut Fischer and Wolfgang Gubisch presented the different options for nasal reconstruction surgery in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International.