Facial skin cancer excision is a common surgical procedure where a board-certified plastic surgeon removes cancerous skin cells from the face. When trying to beat skin cancer, this is a crucial procedure and a vital part of your treatment regime.
What Is Skin Cancer Excision?
Not only is skin cancer life-threatening, but it can also leave you with unsightly skin damage. Excising skin cells to remove cancerous cells is the best and most cosmetic procedure to treat cancer without scarring.
During the excision procedure, a cosmetic surgeon, like Dr. Joel Aronowitz, will sterilize the area where the skin cancer lesion is on your face. Local anesthesia is administered to ensure you remain comfortable during the procedure. The lesion and a margin of healthy skin cells are excised and sent for testing. Some surgeons have the equipment to test while the procedure is being performed.
The surgery cuts are then closed with the most appropriate technique, including stitching, grafts, and more. If the tests show that some margins aren’t clear, this may mean a second excision procedure is needed.
Determining Factors for Excision
Not all types of skin cancer or all patients are suitable for this procedure. For starters, skin cell excision only works effectively on non-melanoma skin cancer and basal or squamous cell carcinomas. Some melanomas may respond to skin excision if they are still in the early stages.
Other determining factors to consider include:
- The size and location of the skin cancer
The depth of the skin cancer will determine whether excision is an option.
- Patient health
Since local anesthesia is administered, your health needs to be stable, and you should have no history of heart disease.
- Scarring potential
Since the skin of your face is constantly in view, it’s wise to minimize scarring as much as possible – which is why it’s best to use special techniques to avoid causing irreparable scarring. Dr. Joel Aronowitz recommends having an in-depth discussion with your surgeon to ensure you know what to expect and how to take precautions to minimize confidence-destroying scars.
- Medical history
If you’ve previously had skin cancer treatments, these may influence the success of skin cell excision. It’s important to fully disclose all medical treatments you’ve had and their success or failure.
What to Expect from Skin Cell Excision Therapy
A skin cell excision procedure can take 30 minutes to 2 hours. After the samples are analyzed, a second or third excision procedure may be needed to remove any further compromised skin cells until a clean margin is established. The procedure is only successful if all skin cancer cells have been removed.
How long you can enjoy the results depends on a few factors:
- Successful removal of all cancerous cells
- Cancer prevention, including aftercare to stop the cancer from starting again
- Scarring and healing, which your surgeon can minimize with careful skin grafting techniques
Contact your trusted plastic surgeon to make informed decisions regarding your skin cancer treatment options.
