Skin Cancer Surgery

Skin cancers such as BCC, SCC and Melanoma are more frequent in Australia than in most of the rest of the world. Due to the strength of Australian sun exposure and the Australian outdoor/beach lifestyle many Australians are at risk of developing skin cancer. Skin checks are usually done annually or twice a year for those in very high risk. This involves the doctor examining all areas to look for skin cancers or damaged skin at risk of evolving into skin.

Most skin cancers such as BCC and SCC require excision to prevent further growth and spread. This is usually either done under local anaesthetic at the doctors office or in an operating theatre for bigger cancers.

Melanoma is an aggressive form of skin cancer with Australia having some of the highest rates in the world. The primary treatment of Melanoma is surgical removal, Surgery for Melanoma involves removing the skin lesion and a wide area of normal skin surrounding this to prevent recurrence. Some Melanoma’s can be removed in the surgeons office while others require a hospital based operation. After removal of the large area of skin this will sometimes require a more complicated repair of the area with either a skin graft or a flap repair of the skin, your surgeon will discuss the options with you.

Melanoma skin cancer can sometimes spread to other areas of the body, The first stop for melanoma spread is usually a Lymph node near to the cancer site. Determining whether the melanoma has spread is vital to staging, prognosis and further treatments. At the time of your melanoma excision you may also require a removal of a lymph node called the Sentinel node.

After a skin cancer has been removed the area needs to be covered, most of the time this is done with stitches but some areas of the body require skin grafts to allow healing to occur I.e scalp, lower leg. The skin graft procedure is usually done in the hospital and your surgeon will explain where the graft is to be harvested from.

All surgeries or skin cancer excisions leave a scar, however sometimes these scars become unsightly or enlarged due to a multitude of reasons. Our clinic doctors can offer both scar revision surgery and laser scar resurfacing to help improve the appearance of any scars you find unsatisfactory.