A skin cancer diagnosis can be daunting, especially if treatment requires the removal of large amounts of skin. Fortunately, with the advancements in medical technology, treatments like flap and skin graft reconstruction achieve a higher chance at regaining some normalcy of skin that has been affected by cancer.

Skin grafting involves taking a thin or thick layer of skin from another part of the body. This procedure is typically used when there is not enough healthy adjacent skin available to cover the wound.

Local flap reconstruction aims to reconstruct the tissue where lesions have been removed by using the adjacent skin to match the colour and contour. This surgical method is used if it is not possible to close the skin directly. 

If the defect is extensive or there are other structures removed, a free flap may be required.  The procedure involves taking healthy skin and other structures (fat, muscle, bone) from another part of the body and transferring it to the defect to restore the area from where the tumour was removed. The donor tissue is transferred and attached to blood vessels in the area of the defect.  The donor tissue can come from multiple areas of the body depending on the requirements of the reconstruction.