Hi. My dad had a crack on his lip that wasn't healing. It's been coming and going for ages but i never took any notice of it since it healed intermittently. Anyway I noticed it recently and as I am a dentist I was mildly concerned. I asked a friend to biopsy it and i got a shock when it turned out to be carcinoma in situ with invasion. I feel because i'm a dentist my whole family are looking to me for guidance but I have no expertise in this area. Originally I was told he would be sent to a plastic surgeon but now the local maxillofacial surgeon has said that he will remove the lesion. I am concerned. Do maxfacs usually remove soft tissue lesions on the lip? How will they know if there is lymph node invasion or not? What should I be asking? Any advice would be great

I would go to an ENT. An oral surgeon can do it, but ideally he should have a ct / pet / or MRI to determine if there are mets - usually if it's in the nodes they can be palpated, but as you probably know there could well be microscopic cancer that even a scan can't detect. My concern would more or less be spread to the gums, and jaw first (mandible?) so a scan would be my next step along with a full examination and scope and a second opinion from a qualified ENT who is very familiar with oral cancer. For what it's worth lip cancer is very very treatable and has a great cure rate. Good luck and take care.

Welcome to OCF! I would suggest taking your father to a large cancer center so he will be dealing with professionals who are familiar with treating situations like his.

Best wishes!