Skin Tumor Excision
Introduction
Skin tumor excision is a surgical procedure to remove benign or malignant tumors from the body. It is an essential therapy for skin cancer and other proliferative skin lesions, providing total excision but sparing healthy tissue. This technique depends on tumor size, tumor type, and tumor site and has an important impact on the prevention of cancer metastasis.
What is Skin Tumor Excision?
Skin tumor excision is the surgical procedure to extract an abnormal growth (or lesion) of the skin. This procedure is widely used in the treatment of skin cancers, including basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma. It can also be used for the ablation of benign tumors which could lead to psychological and/or aesthetic unease.
Why is Skin Tumor Excision Needed?
Skin tumor excision is necessary for:
- Treating skin cancers and preventing metastasis.
- Removing benign growths that may become malignant.
- Improving cosmetic appearance and reducing discomfort.
- Diagnosing suspicious skin lesions through biopsy.
Types of Skin Tumor
- Simple Excision: Implanted for the treatment of small, non-ablative, malignant lesions; resection of the lesion with a margin of healthy skin.
- Wide Local Excision: Deletes the tumor and an extended margin of normal tissue to guarantee that complete resection is achieved.
- Mohs Surgery: An incisional procedure for lesions of the skin, constructed layer by layer and subject to microscopy examination in real-time.
- Shave Excision: A minimally invasive method to remove superficial tumors by scraping off from the skin surface.
- Electrosurgical Excision: Applies electrical current to simultaneously ablate and cauterize the tumor.
Procedure Steps
- Preparation: The medical team subjects the patient to a clinical examination and/or biopsy when appropriate.
- Anesthesia: The anesthesiologist induces local or general anesthesia according to tumor size and location.
- Excision: The surgeon excises the tumor together with surrounding healthy tissue.
- Closure: The surgeon seals the wound with a suture or leaves it to heal spontaneously depending on the excision type.
- Post-Procedure Care: The staff applies dressings, and patients receive information about how to care for wounds and schedule follow-up visits.
Benefits of Skin Tumor Excision
- Removes cancerous or suspicious growths.
- Prevents cancer from spreading.
- Restores skin integrity and function.
- Minimal downtime with quick recovery in most cases.
- Enhances cosmetic appearance by removing unsightly tumors.
Risks and Complications
While generally safe, skin tumor excision carries some risks:
- Infection at the surgical site.
- Scarring may vary based on tumor size and location.
- Bleeding or bruising.
- Recurrence of the tumor if not completely removed.
- Nerve damage in rare cases.
Cost of Cutaneous Tumor
- Simple excision: $300 – $800
- Wide excision: $800 – $1,500
- Mohs surgery: $1,500 – $3,000
Top Hospitals in India for Skin Tumor
- Apollo Hospitals, Chennai
- Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram
- Max Super Speciality Hospital, New Delhi
