Thanks for responding. I've had a basal cell and one teeny malignant melanoma (2019) which was excised at my neck - no further treatment but have had frequent skin checks since (4-6/yr) My Dr is a UPENN grad in practice 30+yrs but is essentially a highly skilled boarded plastic surgeon and dermatologist. A cutting edge guy, he still publishes; definitely not on auto-pilot. He's done many I-grafts and told me they are the brainchild of Steve Badylak.
When my large SCC was found he gave me the choice of a typical skin graft or pig placenta. With typical graft, I'd have 2 wounds, obviously, and recovery would require 3wks in a wheelchair with the leg up. Then, all done. The placenta patch was placed a wk after excision and I'll get 4-6 more eventually, on a wkly basis -they essentially dissolve after 4 days. But no wheelchair or other restrictions beyond the necessity of staying out of water. Of course an infection has been a great inconvenience and has us somewhat off balance, but our daughter is being married next month and if all had gone well from the start I'd be good to go. Tomorrow he is hoping to get back on track and though he hasn't said, I'm sure the timeline is moving out. It truly was my choice and he did little to sway me one way or another, though when asked by my veterinarian husband, freely said the I-graft should be textbook considering the location of the SCC and the poor circulation, etc. at the lower leg. He felt it would heal better than a normal graft. The placenta will supposedly leave a better appearance though at 75, on my ankle, do I care? Nah. But it's not turning out quite as 'textbook' as I'd hoped. I'm just anticipating a new patch to be steri-stripped in tomm and bandaged. The following week will tell the tale. My medically-thoughtful hubby fears rejection of the placenta, though Dr is operating on the theory that an immune response has caused the inflammation that's caused my setback. Time will tell and I'll surely check back in.
If I could ask, do you see a dermatologist or an oncologist? At what point does one know it's time to seek an oncologist? I live in a rapidly-growing part of the country (southern DE) and the nationwide shortage of physicians is even worse here. It can take 6-8 months to get in as a new patient in most practices. Though both Penn and Johns Hopkins are 2.5hrs away, they're not exactly convenient for routine care. My Primary Doc is lovely, but he's young and doesn't have stock answers.