Recovery from cancer is celebrated today in all walks of life, but people don’t talk about what other damage your body can experience as you heal. Many patients have had to face surgery and unexpected changes in their body from cancer during the fight.
Why Cancer Can Be So Destructive
Dr. Joel Aronowitz notes that the body’s cells work in a clockwork fashion, growing to just the right size and then expiring on a date certain to be replaced by more cells doing the same. However, with cancer, some body cells malfunction and keep growing. Eventually, this malfunction can turn into a tumor. When that occurs, it starts to create nearby damage as well as spread to other tissues. While chemotherapy is one method of treatment, surgical removal of tumors is quite common too. And that surgical procedure then leaves an absence and possible disfigurement.
Plastic Surgery for Reconstruction
At the microscopic level, plastic surgery is now being used to generate new replacement tissue from a cancer victim’s own body. This approach, better known as reconstructive microsurgery, transplants healthy tissue from other parts of the victim and uses it as a filler to help the body replace tissue lost from cancer. All types of body tissue can be used because, at the microscopic level, it can be stitched together to replace the missing structure. This approach inserts healthy circulatory network parts that the body can then use to heal the affected area faster. Instead of having to grow the circulatory network all over again, it just uses what’s been transplanted by the surgery. Because the material is from the patient’s own body, there’s also no risk of rejection either. This procedure has become a big game-changer for surgery in the neck and facial area as well as the rest of the head.
An example of the above procedure could be where a tumor has ravaged facial muscle tissue, inner thigh replacement tissue can be used to help the cancer patient perform a normal smile again. The same procedure can also be used to help breast cancer patients grow and replace their breast tissue again versus relying on artificial implants.
Second Chances Mean More Now for Cancer Victims
Plastic surgery may not be a perfect solution for cancer recovery, but Joel Aronowitz MD believes the breakthroughs today can restore people’s lives and their confidence closer to what they had before the disease hit. That difference can change a person’s life as well as their outlook after being sick with a tumor and then the dramatic procedure to remove it.
