BACKGROUND: Tumours of nasal skin or mucosa are common, and can usually be treated with limited surgical excision or radiotherapy. This paper highlights a subset of high risk tumours which require rhinectomy for complete oncological clearance. METHOD: Retrospective case note review of 14 patients undergoing rhinectomy for nasal tumours. Clinical and histological findings, treatment and outcome are reviewed and discussed. RESULTS: Forty-three per cent of patients had recurrent disease and underwent rhinectomy as a salvage procedure following previous surgery or radiotherapy. Most tumours (79 per cent) were basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma. After a mean follow up of 30.1 months (range, zero to 96 months), seven patients (50 per cent) were alive and disease-free. Reconstruction was most commonly with a prosthesis. CONCLUSION: Rhinectomy is an oncologically sound procedure for the management of high risk nasal malignancies. Prosthetic rehabilitation can be an excellent alternative to surgery, particularly in those patients unsuitable for major reconstruction.
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