Restore
Skin Cancer

Dr. Nasim Abedi provides comprehensive surgical treatment for various types of skin cancers. Her goal is to prioritize oncologic efficacy while maintaining optimum cosmetic results.

Contents

What is Skin Cancer?

A cancer diagnosis is very difficult to accept. Understanding that treating your skin cancer may result in scars or disfigurement can also be troubling. Dr. Abedi understands your concerns and will guide you through treatment and explain the resulting effect on your health and appearance.

Skin cancer, much like any form of cancer, may require surgery to remove cancerous growths. Dr. Abedi can surgically remove cancerous and other skin lesions using specialized techniques to preserve your health and your appearance. Although no surgery is without scars, Dr. Abedi will make every effort to treat your skin cancer without dramatically changing your appearance.

Consultation and Preparing for Surgery

The first step in treating skin cancer is a consultation with Dr. Abedi.

    • Your type of skin cancer

    • Medical conditions, drug allergies, and medical treatments

    • Current medications, vitamins, herbal supplements, alcohol, tobacco, and drug use

    • Previous surgeries

    • The likely outcomes of your treatment and any risks or potential complications

    • Evaluate your general health status and any pre-existing health conditions or risk factors

    • Examine your skin

    • Discuss your options

    • Recommend a course of treatment

    • Discuss likely outcomes of surgery and any risks or potential complications

    • Get lab testing or a medical evaluation

    • Stop your blood thinners

    • Stop smoking

    • Avoid taking aspirin, anti-inflammatory drugs, and herbal supplements as they can increase bleeding

The Procedure

Depending on the size, type and location of the lesion, there are many ways to remove skin cancer and reconstruct your appearance if necessary.

STEP 1: Anesthesia

Most of the skin cancers are removed under local anesthesia. However in more aggressive forms or larger disease, the surgery may need to be done under general anesthesia and/or sedation. 

Step 2: Removal

A small or contained lesion may be removed with excision - a simple surgical process to remove the lesion from the skin. Closure is most often performed in conjunction with excision.

STEP 3: Reconstruction

Excision of large or deep skin cancers often lead to a significant defect or can cause disfigurement. In these cases, specialized techniques are required to re-arrange the tissues in the area (local flap reconstruction) or to transfer tissue from another area (skin graft) to allow closing the defect and minimize a cosmetic deformity. The suture line is positioned to follow the natural creases and curves of the face if possible, to minimize the obviousness of the resulting scar.

Dr. Abedi will advise you prior to your procedure if this is required.

A. Local Flap

Dr. Abedi may choose to treat your wound with a skin graft instead of a local flap. A skin graft is a thin bit of skin removed from one area of the body and relocated to the wound site.

B. Skin Graft

STEP 4: See the results

After your skin cancer has been removed and any primary reconstruction is completed, a dressing or bandages will be applied to your incisions.

risks and safety

When faced with skin cancer surgery you will have to decide if the risks and potential complications are acceptable. You will be asked to sign consent forms or give verbal consent to ensure that you fully understand the procedure.

The risks include:

  • Allergies to tape, suture materials and glues, topical preparations, or injected agents

  • Anesthesia risks

  • Change in skin sensation

  • Damage to deeper structures—such as nerves, blood vessels, muscles - can occur and may be temporary or permanent

  • Excessive bleeding

  • Infection

  • Poor healing of incisions

  • Scarring

  • Possibility of revision surgery

  • Recurrence of skin cancer

  • Need for further excision due to positive margins (cancer remaining at the site)

  • Systemic spread of skin cancer

These risks and others will be fully discussed prior to your consent. It's important that you address all your questions directly with Dr. Abedi

Other Important Considerations:

Skin grafts have an added risk that the graft will not "take" and therefore additional surgery may be necessary to close the wound.

Preserve Your Health:

Once you have been diagnosed with skin cancer, you are at a higher risk to develop another skin cancer. Since skin cancer may reoccur, it's important to discuss the signs of skin cancer with your physician, regularly perform self-examinations for suspicious lesions, and schedule an annual skin cancer screening with a dermatologist.

RECOVERY AFTER SURGERY

Following your skin cancer surgery, incision sites may be sore, red, or drain small amounts of fluid.

  • It is important to follow all wound care instructions provided to you by Dr. Abedi

  • You will be able to return to light activity as instructed by Dr. Abedi

  • Make certain to keep your incision sites clean and well protected from potential injury

  • Try to limit movement that may stress your wound and your sutures

Healing will continue for many weeks or months as incision lines continue to improve. It may take a year or more following a given procedure for incision lines to refine and fade to some degree. In some cases, secondary procedures may be required to complete or refine your reconstruction.

Sun exposure to healing wounds may result in irregular pigmentation and scars that can become raised, red, or dark. Sun exposure may increase the risk of the development of skin cancer in another region of your body.

results

Dr. Abedi can treat your skin cancer by surgically removing cancerous skin and closing the resulting wound. Some forms of skin cancer require additional treatment such as radiation therapy. Your physician will advise you about any follow-up treatment recommendations.

Reconstruction closes the skin cancer defect, but no reconstruction is perfect. Visible scars will always remain at incision sites. You may also see textural, color or other visible differences of the skin in reconstructed areas. In some cases, treating your skin cancer can be disfiguring to your appearance. Although every effort is made to restore your appearance as closely and naturally as possible, the most important factor is that your skin cancer is effectively cured.

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