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Surgical
Treatment of Skin Cancer
- Cryosurgery
- Very cold! (-321°F or -196°C)
- Treatment of choice for individual pre-cancers
- Applied with a spray gun or cotton tipped applicator
- A burning or “frostbite sting” sensation is felt
- Treated areas turn red, swollen, and sometimes blister during
healing
- Currettage with electrodessication
- Precancerous lesions are scraped away with a curette
- Then the area is cauterized with an electric needle to control
bleeding and kill any remaining cancerous cells
- Photodynamic therapy
- A light-sensitizing solution is applied to the skin and allowed
to absorb over several hours
- Chemical is selectively absorbed by the abnormal cells
- An activating light is shined on the patient, causing destruction
of the abnormal cells
- Burning sensation is experienced
- Lesions turn red and crusty
- Patients must avoid any sun exposure after treatment, as their
skin is still light sensitive
- Ablative skin resurfacing (resurfacing laser, dermabrasion,
chemical peel)
- Laser or chemicals are used to remove the outer layers of the
skin
- As the treated skin peels, new skin forms to replace it
- Redness and swelling are seen for several days/weeks after the
treatment
- Can have pigment changes and scarring
- Excision and split-thickness skin grafting of the dorsa
of the hand and forearm
- Mohs micrographic surgery
- Excision with intraoperative frozen section control
- Excision with postoperative margin assessment
- Excision with Sentinal Lymph Node Biopsy
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