Zentralblatt für Chirurgie
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Survival rates even in advanced tumour stage have been improved for some tumour entities due to progress in adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapeutic strategies. Nevertheless, painful, exulcerated or bleeding wounds can impair quality of life for palliative patients. Increasing evidence in palliative treatment has raised options for plastic-reconstructive surgery to be applied for treatment of local wounds which can improve quality of life for the remaining lifetime for the palliative patients in our institutions. ⋯ Opportunities and limitations in plastic and reconstructive surgery should be continuously presented in tumour boards, to clarify these important procedures for palliative patients to all members of the tumour board. There is an increasing impact of plastic surgery for improving the quality of life in palliative patients in a multimodal therapeutical concept.