How are Skin Excisions Done?

How are Skin Excisions Done?

Skin excision surgery is performed using local anesthesia. Your surgeon will use incisions to make an elliptical shape around the skin cancer. This shape also removes enough healthy tissue to eliminate all cancer cells. The elliptical shape allows your surgeon to make a clean line of sutures. The suture line may be longer than the incision looks during the procedure. 

Your surgeon will take the minimum amount of skin to achieve complete removal of the skin cancer. Your Levy Dermatology surgeon uses their extensive experience to leave you with as small a scar as possible, but you should expect that an excision will often leave a scar, depending on the size of the area removed. 

What do Skin Excisions Treat?

Skin excisions remove a range of cancerous or concerning skin lesions. Basal and squamous cell carcinomas are the most common skin cancers treated with this procedure. These slow-growing, common skin cancers develop most often in areas exposed to the sun but can occur almost anywhere. An excision effectively removes these types of skin cancer before they can damage surrounding tissues. 

Skin excision can also treat early melanoma, which usually starts as an abnormal mole. This skin cancer can spread and become dangerous, so early removal is essential. Your surgeon will take enough tissue from around the mole to remove it. This tissue is examined by a pathologist to determine whether any further treatment is needed.