Reconstruction after skin cancer excision through a dermal induction template: our experience

Dermal substitutes offer alternative approaches for wounds of all thicknesses where sufficient donation sites are not available for self-grafts. Several dermal substitutes are described in literature. This study included 20 patients treated with a dermal induction template after the removal of malignant skin cancers situated in various parts of the body. The participants were especially aged patients with multiple skin cancers, and complex clinical conditions, often affected by pathologies such as cardiopathy, diabetes mellitus, and hypercholesterolaemia, and receiving pharmacological multi-therapies, particularly antiplatelets and anticoagulants. In many of these patients, the general complex clinical picture provided significant contraindication for complex reconstructive surgery because of the high risk involved. All patients achieved complete healing about 8 weeks after the first surgery. By using a dermal induction template, it was possible to cover substantial loss of substances without the need of autologous tissue, with smoother and less apparent scar, minor occurrence of hypertrophic and retracted scars, better flexibility of healed skin and therefore a better result from an aesthetic point of view.