A female patient had some very dark pigmentation lesions on her left cheek which had progressed to a large part of her cheeks over a period of time. Initially they tried home remedies and local medication assuming it is some skin disorder, but as it got worse the local hospitals denied further treatment.
The disfiguration on the face started to take a toll on her mental health and social life too. She did not like going out or meeting people, even her own family members. She used to stay in her room all day and was getting into depression. She was even scared to do surgery because she felt the scars of surgery will be worse. All the self-doubt and fear made her even more isolated and feared.
She was referred to HCG Manavata Cancer Centre where she met Dr. Raj Nagarkar, who quickly understood the trauma she was going through and decided to be a support to help her gain confidence first before even getting into the medical discussions. He spent time her to help her understand what her pigmentation really was and how safe and secure the surgical procedure will be. Her case was called Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) which is a type of skin cancer caused due to over sun exposure. In her case the BCC had grown significantly larger than 5 cm which added a bit of risk to the operation. But the Head and Neck surgical team led by Dr. Rajendra Dhondge performed a reconstructive surgery by a free radial artery forearm flap. In this surgery some skin tissues from the arm are taken and their vessels are anastomosed with neck vessels under the microscope to give it a new life.
Speaking about this Dr. Raj Nagarkar, MD, HCGMCC says “At HCG Manavata Cancer Centre we feel that the sentimental and emotional wellbeing of patient is paramount for effective treatment. So it is not always about the medicine; as doctors we should also learn to empathize with the suffering of the patient and help them understand what they will go through. I am grateful to my team of excellent surgeons and medical staff who have such a humane approach. We are constantly pushing the boundaries of treatment and leveraging technology and modern equipment in providing the best medical options to our patients.”
Post the surgery, she recovered well and she was very happy to see her face clear of all lesions and now has a positive outlook to life.
