These are most of the time office procedures. At times we prefer to do this under some sedation at an outpatient facility. It depends on the size and the depth of the lesion. This encompasses anything from a discolored mole to a cyst, or even as complex as a skin cancer. The suturing can be in the outside or under the skin where it dissolves. Every case is treated differently. Skin cancers are treated depending on the type.

Basal cell- mostly treated with simple excision.

Squamous cell- mostly by excision, tend to be more aggressive hence the margins of resection are larger Melanoma- these require larger margins and sometimes re-operation and lymph node removal.

Risks of the procedure are infection and recurrence.  Sometimes, if the lesion is deep, the patient may develop a fluid collection called a seroma, that will likely reabsorb over time but on occasion we have to drain it.  Wound care is simple and consists of washing the wound with water and soap. This is individualized depending on the size and location of the cut.

As in all cancer surgeries, it is important to obtain clean margins, or normal tissue past the cancer edge.  Sometimes during the first surgery, this is not accomplished, since it is a microscopic finding.  When this happens, we have to go back and re excise to a larger margin.