Successful treatment for a patient with scalp cancer that had invaded the skull bone

Ms. LTT (46 years old, Tay ethnic group in Tuyen Quang ) has had a life full of determination when fighting against scalp cancer. The deadly disease has forced her to undergo a series of surgeries over the years.

Dr. Bui Mai Anh examines a patient after recovery - Photo: BVCC

Challenges from giant tumors

Ms. T. was diagnosed with scalp cancer and had undergone four previous surgeries at another hospital. However, because the cancer had recurred, and she was an ethnic minority living in the highlands, she was unable to go to the hospital early.

When the tumor spread, Ms. T. went to Viet Duc Friendship Hospital for treatment.

The tumor appeared in many locations, the entire cancerous skin area occupied 2/3 of the scalp, was hot and had bleeding spots, along with old skin areas from previous surgeries. The CT scan results showed that the tumor had invaded the skull, requiring close coordination between plastic surgery - microsurgery, neurosurgery...

The goal of surgery is not only to remove the tumor, cut the invaded skull area but also to regenerate the scalp and cranial vault to ensure the function of protecting the skull as well as the patient's aesthetics. The team of experts has meticulously planned and prepared all the best conditions for a surgery that lasts for many hours.

The complicated surgery lasted 12 hours.

Dr. Bui Mai Anh, Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, shared that the patient had to undergo surgery to remove the entire scalp tumor, including the affected skull bone. The surgery was coordinated with a neurosurgeon to remove the affected skull bone.

"The goal is to best reconstruct the patient's scalp and head shape, allowing the patient to achieve both the skull reconstruction and the scalp reconstruction in the same surgery.

After removing the skull, the doctor will use titanium material to reshape the skull, and cover the titanium mesh with skin taken from the patient's thigh using microsurgery techniques.

Because the area that had to be removed was very large (about 25 x 30cm, almost the entire scalp), the doctors had to take the skin from the thigh and divide the skin flap into flexible skin islands that could hug the shape of the skull to recreate the function and aesthetics for the patient.

This is one of the specialized techniques in the field of microsurgery because it must ensure that the vascular dissection does not damage the very small percutaneous branches (

The flap was then transferred to the head and blood vessels were connected to a very small size so that the flap could survive. The surgery lasted 12 hours," Dr. Mai Anh informed.

After more than 1 month of surgery, the patient's scalp condition has stabilized well. Currently, the patient has recovered both functionally and aesthetically.

Ms. LTT had the large tumor completely removed, regaining her confidence and joy in life. She emotionally shared: "I never thought I could overcome this disease. Now I have been given a chance to live again."

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dieu-tri-thanh-cong-cho-nguoi-benh-mac-ung-thu-da-dau-da-xam-lan-vao-xuong-so-20250204093929716.htm