Surgery for head and neck skin tumors in the elderly

Abstract

With careful attention to comorbid illness and perioperative monitoring, surgical resection of head and neck skin neoplasms is safe in the elderly. Lesions are more advanced at presentation and hence require sacrifice of a larger area of skin to obtain macroscopic clearance. Yet for the majority of lesions, local anesthesia is adequate and surgical resection and simple skin closure can be accomplished without the need for complex flap or skin graft reconstructions.

Complications of ambulatory major dermatological surgery in patients older than 85 years

“…This determines a constant increase in the incidence of skin cancer 1 which leads to a sustained rise of surgical procedures necessary for its treatment 2 . The previous studies 3–7 detected no higher morbidity for dermatological surgery in elderly patients. Although wound healing is delayed in aged individuals, final result is qualitatively similar to that obtained in young subjects 8 …”

Through-and-Through Mattress Suturing Versus Tie-Over Dressing in Full-Thickness Skin Graft Reconstruction

“…In addition, a high number of these skin lesions present at an advanced stage, particularly among the elderly population as seen in this case series, thus require sacrifice of a significantly larger area of skin to obtain macroscopic clearance (6). The majority of skin lesions in this study occurred on the nose, particularly in the nasal tip region, wherein local flap closure was not possible.…”

A systematic review of comorbidity indices used in the nonmelanoma skin cancer population

“…3 Dhiwakar and colleagues showed a significantly higher CCI score in a group of patients greater than age 80 with head and neck skin tumors, compared with patients less than age 80. 4 However, a separate study of patients aged 90 years and older undergoing MMS did not show a correlation between CCI score and life expectancy after Mohs surgery. 5 …”