Vacuum-assisted closure therapy after resection of giant basal cell carcinoma of the scalp

Abstract

Management of complicated wounds is a challenge in head and neck reconstruction. Although the negative pressure wound therapy or wound vacuum-assisted closure has been widely used in complicated wounds and shows promising results, its application in the head and neck region after reconstruction for the head and neck cancer is rarely presented. A 77-year-old woman underwent a radical resection of an extensive basal cell carcinoma of the scalp and forehead involving the periosteum, where classic reconstruction was difficult, but successfully treated with negative pressure wound therapy. Negative pressure wound therapy is an efficacious tool in cases of complex and extensive defects, when we expect immediate reconstruction with poor results, as would be probable with this scalp lesion.