POSTED UNDER Mohs Surgery REVIEWS
Skin Cancer of the Nose / Basal Cell Skin Cancer of Nose / Skin Cancer Reconstruction - Tucson, AZ
ORIGINAL POST
1. Found out I had basal cell skin cancer on nose....
pleaseandthankyouAugust 26, 2016
WORTH IT$2,500
1. Found out I had basal cell skin cancer on nose.
2. Next, I went to U.S. news and World Report Top 10 hospital for removal and reconstruction of skin cancer. Was assured about the reconstruction surgeon's expertise by both dermatologist, staff and plastic surgeon and staff regarding forehead flap and reconstruction that he does that surgery " all the time" and was shown pictures in his office (not on his web site) of his work.
3. Result - UGH! Ended up with botched, notched, disfigured nose that friends had a hard time looking at (one nostril was way off). My mom even started bawling the first time that she saw me. (That made me feel the worst). At this time, I am doubtful that the pictures that I was shown in his office were actually previous doctor's patients.
4. Now the good part and good news. Found Dr. Menick.
Hooray, consulted with Dr. Menick in Tuscon to fix my nose. He offered me a couple of choices, and I chose the easy route (to work with the existing flap) which would give me the least amount of result but I wanted to try that first without having to go through another forehead flap. I am a baby and spent almost half of that year (having little surgeries almost every 6 weeks) getting worked on by the previous doctor with false promises and meager results so I was slightly sick of surgery, looking goofy and wanted to try the easy route.
5. Result after Dr. Menick worked on me.
Now, more good news. One week post op, I am very happy with the result from Dr. Menick. It is not perfect but nose is straighter and more socially acceptable and no longer distracting looking. If I want a perfect nose, I can do another forehead flap but at this time I am very happy with the work that he did.
6. My final thoughts. I want to reiterate to anyone with skin cancer of the nose or face..... Run do not walk to Dr. Menick's office. He is world renowned and on top of that.... he really cares about making YOU look perfect.
Dr. Menick has trained other doctors and wrote the manual for reconstruction of the nose and face and most if not all doctors that do nasal reconstruction use his manual. The problem here is that a manual for something complicated only goes so far so if you truly want a good result go to Dr. Menick.
After all the research I did... (Tons) There are about three really good surgeons in Nasal and skin cancer reconstruction and Dr. Menick is at the top of the totem pole.
Plus, he is a lovely man and treats his reasonable patients very nicely. So, my only regret is not finding Dr. Menick in the first place. I would not have wasted months ( almost 6 months) of my life getting worked on with another Doctor and if I had found Dr. Menick in the first place.
2. Next, I went to U.S. news and World Report Top 10 hospital for removal and reconstruction of skin cancer. Was assured about the reconstruction surgeon's expertise by both dermatologist, staff and plastic surgeon and staff regarding forehead flap and reconstruction that he does that surgery " all the time" and was shown pictures in his office (not on his web site) of his work.
3. Result - UGH! Ended up with botched, notched, disfigured nose that friends had a hard time looking at (one nostril was way off). My mom even started bawling the first time that she saw me. (That made me feel the worst). At this time, I am doubtful that the pictures that I was shown in his office were actually previous doctor's patients.
4. Now the good part and good news. Found Dr. Menick.
Hooray, consulted with Dr. Menick in Tuscon to fix my nose. He offered me a couple of choices, and I chose the easy route (to work with the existing flap) which would give me the least amount of result but I wanted to try that first without having to go through another forehead flap. I am a baby and spent almost half of that year (having little surgeries almost every 6 weeks) getting worked on by the previous doctor with false promises and meager results so I was slightly sick of surgery, looking goofy and wanted to try the easy route.
5. Result after Dr. Menick worked on me.
Now, more good news. One week post op, I am very happy with the result from Dr. Menick. It is not perfect but nose is straighter and more socially acceptable and no longer distracting looking. If I want a perfect nose, I can do another forehead flap but at this time I am very happy with the work that he did.
6. My final thoughts. I want to reiterate to anyone with skin cancer of the nose or face..... Run do not walk to Dr. Menick's office. He is world renowned and on top of that.... he really cares about making YOU look perfect.
Dr. Menick has trained other doctors and wrote the manual for reconstruction of the nose and face and most if not all doctors that do nasal reconstruction use his manual. The problem here is that a manual for something complicated only goes so far so if you truly want a good result go to Dr. Menick.
After all the research I did... (Tons) There are about three really good surgeons in Nasal and skin cancer reconstruction and Dr. Menick is at the top of the totem pole.
Plus, he is a lovely man and treats his reasonable patients very nicely. So, my only regret is not finding Dr. Menick in the first place. I would not have wasted months ( almost 6 months) of my life getting worked on with another Doctor and if I had found Dr. Menick in the first place.
Replies (3)
UPDATED FROM pleaseandthankyou
1 year post
Menick is wonderful and best for recon for Nose basal cancer or anything sort of nasal disfigurement
pleaseandthankyouFebruary 25, 2018
Menick is wonderful and best a recon for cancer or anything sort of nasal disfigurement. My nose is not perfect but it is 95% better than it was before I went to Menick. My neighbor is a plastic surgeon and he stated that my nose is great. My friends are amazed at how great I look to how I looked originally from previous doctor. I had total of 5 surgeries but I look so much better,
Wow, thank you for sharing your story. Do you have any pics you can post? Love to see your results!
Do you think you will ever have another forehead flap?