What is excision of nonmelanoma skin cancer?

Excision of nonmelanoma skin cancer is a treatment to remove, or excise, basal cell and squamous cell cancers (carcinomas) from your skin. Skin cancer is the abnormal growth of cells in the skin.

Most cases of these types of cancer can be cured if they are found and removed early. If the cancer is not completely removed, it may come back.

The doctor uses medicine to numb the area around the cancer. Then the doctor cuts out the cancer along with a small amount of healthy skin around it. The wound is most often closed with stitches.

The procedure takes about 30 minutes. You will probably go home soon after. You may have a scar. The scar should fade with time.

The tissue that was removed will be sent to a lab to be looked at under a microscope. This is done to confirm if the tissue is skin cancer and if all of it was removed.

• If your doctor told you how to care for your wound, follow your doctor's instructions. If you did not get instructions, follow this general advice:
  • Wash around the wound with clean water 2 times a day. Don't use hydrogen peroxide or alcohol, which can slow healing.
  • You may cover the wound with a thin layer of petroleum jelly, such as Vaseline, and a nonstick bandage.
  • Apply more petroleum jelly and replace the bandage as needed.
• If you had stitches, your doctor will tell you when to come back to have them removed.
• Be safe with medicines. Read and follow all instructions on the label.
  • If the doctor gave you a prescription medicine for pain, take it as prescribed.
  • If you are not taking a prescription pain medicine, ask your doctor if you can take an over-the-counter medicine.

Standard excision treatment for basal cell carcinoma less than 20 mm (0.8 in.) wide has cure rates as high as 95 out of 100 people, when done with 4 mm (0.2 in.) margins. When standard excision is used to treat squamous cell carcinoma, about 92 out of 100 people are cured. In most cases, Mohs micrographic surgery has cure rates that are a little higher than excision cure rates.

Risks of using excision to remove skin cancers include the following:

• The wound may bleed, cause pain, or become infected.
• Scarring may occur.
• A skin graft may not heal.
• All cancer cells may not be removed, leaving a margin that has cancer cells.

Recovery from skin cancer surgery varies depending on the site and how much skin is removed.