What is skin cancer surgery?
If surgery is recommended following the identification of skin cancer, an assessment is made of the most appropriate surgical procedure. These include excision, curettage and cautery, or flaps and grafts.
Consideration is given to achieving a good cosmetic result without compromising the tumour removal.
Surgery: what to expect
- Excision is the most common procedure utilised to remove skin cancer surgically and, in most cases, involves simple side-to-side closure with sutures performed under local anesthetic.
- A flap or graft surgical repair procedure may be employed when side-to-side closure is not possible, either because of the tumour’s size or anatomical position.
- Curettage and cautery is a procedure typically performed on non-cosmetic areas that uses a sharp, spoon-shaped tool called a curette to scrape away skin lesions, followed by using an electro-cautery tool to burn the base of the wound. The procedure is performed under local anesthetic, requires no sutures and the wound is left to heal on its own.
- After the procedure, your doctor will provide written instructions on wound care.
- A follow-up appointment in 7-10 days will be made for wound review and removal of any sutures.
We are a fully-accredited day surgery facility, providing the NSW South Coast community with patient-centred care for over 20 years.
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