Free Flap Scalp Surgery for Multiple Lesions

Are all his lesions on his head only?  Has he had scans that show he is NED everywhere else?  Just wondering if something systemic might be tried instead of such a radical surgery.  Just throwing that out there, it may not be the appropriate treatment but bears asking the question anyway.

Are all his lesions on his head only?  Has he had scans that show he is NED everywhere else?  Just wondering if something systemic might be tried instead of such a radical surgery.  Just throwing that out there, it may not be the appropriate treatment but bears asking the question anyway.

Are all his lesions on his head only?  Has he had scans that show he is NED everywhere else?  Just wondering if something systemic might be tried instead of such a radical surgery.  Just throwing that out there, it may not be the appropriate treatment but bears asking the question anyway.

Hello,

Is he seeing a melanoma specialist.  He needs this type of doctor that handles melanoma all the time.  If not I would tell him to have a second opinion from a melanoma specialist.

My husband had one melanoma tumor on his head which was 10.5 mm and his WLE (wide local excision) and SNB (sentinal node biopsy) was in a 10.5 cm incision which is the size of a grapefruit and went all the way to the scalp.  They cinched the skin into about a 3 inch in diameter area and did a skin graft from his thigh over the area.  He had the surgery and was released about an hour after surgery to go home.  He did fine.  This was in 2008.  He had surgery from a head and neck surgeon that specialized in melanoma.  The one SNB they removed came back negative for melanoma.

The doctor teasingly said he also got a free face lift because when the cinched the skin it pulled the skin.  He said it felt like he had a tight hat on his head for a while.

I hope this helps.

Judy (loving wife of Gene Stage IV and now NED for 4.5 years)

Hello,

Is he seeing a melanoma specialist.  He needs this type of doctor that handles melanoma all the time.  If not I would tell him to have a second opinion from a melanoma specialist.

My husband had one melanoma tumor on his head which was 10.5 mm and his WLE (wide local excision) and SNB (sentinal node biopsy) was in a 10.5 cm incision which is the size of a grapefruit and went all the way to the scalp.  They cinched the skin into about a 3 inch in diameter area and did a skin graft from his thigh over the area.  He had the surgery and was released about an hour after surgery to go home.  He did fine.  This was in 2008.  He had surgery from a head and neck surgeon that specialized in melanoma.  The one SNB they removed came back negative for melanoma.

The doctor teasingly said he also got a free face lift because when the cinched the skin it pulled the skin.  He said it felt like he had a tight hat on his head for a while.

I hope this helps.

Judy (loving wife of Gene Stage IV and now NED for 4.5 years)

Hello,

Is he seeing a melanoma specialist.  He needs this type of doctor that handles melanoma all the time.  If not I would tell him to have a second opinion from a melanoma specialist.

My husband had one melanoma tumor on his head which was 10.5 mm and his WLE (wide local excision) and SNB (sentinal node biopsy) was in a 10.5 cm incision which is the size of a grapefruit and went all the way to the scalp.  They cinched the skin into about a 3 inch in diameter area and did a skin graft from his thigh over the area.  He had the surgery and was released about an hour after surgery to go home.  He did fine.  This was in 2008.  He had surgery from a head and neck surgeon that specialized in melanoma.  The one SNB they removed came back negative for melanoma.

The doctor teasingly said he also got a free face lift because when the cinched the skin it pulled the skin.  He said it felt like he had a tight hat on his head for a while.

I hope this helps.

Judy (loving wife of Gene Stage IV and now NED for 4.5 years)

June of 2015 I had a stage 2b on in the crown area of my scalp. 5 surguries later I have a tennis ball size whole on the back of my scalp. I also had a smaller melanoma on my forehead. I tell people I got shot in the forehead and it came out the back of my head, joke. They took most of the area down to the skull and finnaly a skin graft. Not to sound negative but my research at that time I found that those types of melanomas on the scalp area almost always spread. July of this year I found a knot in my lower neck upper shoulder after a shower. It was melanoma and pet scan found 7 more in my lungs. It did spread with me. I am glad he is having it done all at one time as my 5 surguries were seperate and I had to wear a vacum pump attached to my head. I told people my brain was so active that to prevent it from overheating I had to pump refridgerated air straight into my skull. I always try to find humor in a bad situtation. This happened 1 week after having total right knee replacement. I must have looked really bad as during this time I was sitting in an eclectric cart in a grocery store waiting on my wife and a lady said I looked distressed and asked what happened. I told her and about 10 minutes later a manager came up and gave me a $100 gift card and said a customer wanted me to have it. I hope all goes well with your dad. There several you tube videos of the surgury process your dad is going to have.

June of 2015 I had a stage 2b on in the crown area of my scalp. 5 surguries later I have a tennis ball size whole on the back of my scalp. I also had a smaller melanoma on my forehead. I tell people I got shot in the forehead and it came out the back of my head, joke. They took most of the area down to the skull and finnaly a skin graft. Not to sound negative but my research at that time I found that those types of melanomas on the scalp area almost always spread. July of this year I found a knot in my lower neck upper shoulder after a shower. It was melanoma and pet scan found 7 more in my lungs. It did spread with me. I am glad he is having it done all at one time as my 5 surguries were seperate and I had to wear a vacum pump attached to my head. I told people my brain was so active that to prevent it from overheating I had to pump refridgerated air straight into my skull. I always try to find humor in a bad situtation. This happened 1 week after having total right knee replacement. I must have looked really bad as during this time I was sitting in an eclectric cart in a grocery store waiting on my wife and a lady said I looked distressed and asked what happened. I told her and about 10 minutes later a manager came up and gave me a $100 gift card and said a customer wanted me to have it. I hope all goes well with your dad. There several you tube videos of the surgury process your dad is going to have.

June of 2015 I had a stage 2b on in the crown area of my scalp. 5 surguries later I have a tennis ball size whole on the back of my scalp. I also had a smaller melanoma on my forehead. I tell people I got shot in the forehead and it came out the back of my head, joke. They took most of the area down to the skull and finnaly a skin graft. Not to sound negative but my research at that time I found that those types of melanomas on the scalp area almost always spread. July of this year I found a knot in my lower neck upper shoulder after a shower. It was melanoma and pet scan found 7 more in my lungs. It did spread with me. I am glad he is having it done all at one time as my 5 surguries were seperate and I had to wear a vacum pump attached to my head. I told people my brain was so active that to prevent it from overheating I had to pump refridgerated air straight into my skull. I always try to find humor in a bad situtation. This happened 1 week after having total right knee replacement. I must have looked really bad as during this time I was sitting in an eclectric cart in a grocery store waiting on my wife and a lady said I looked distressed and asked what happened. I told her and about 10 minutes later a manager came up and gave me a $100 gift card and said a customer wanted me to have it. I hope all goes well with your dad. There several you tube videos of the surgury process your dad is going to have.