Skin Cancer Care

Basal cell carcinoma is easily the most common form of skin cancer in the US and the easiest to treat. It responds well to surgical removal. 

Squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma are more challenging and are a growing threat across the nation, but early treatment remains effective even with these skin cancers.

It is essential that you take all forms of skin cancer and suspicious lesions seriously and conduct routine skin examinations.

Surgical removal, also called an excision, is usually the most effective treatment for skin cancer. However, there are many types of excisions and their uses vary.

• A simple excision targets small lesions and is followed by a wound closure when the procedure is complete
• Some excisions include freezing sections of the lesion so they can be evaluated for pathologies during the operation
• Mohs surgery is a process where the surgeon shaves away the cancer one layer at a time, examining each layer before proceeding to the next

It's not unusual for a cancerous lesion to look small on the surface of your skin and then be much larger beneath the surface. The wound left behind may be much larger than you expected.

Fortunately, our plastic surgeons are experts in wound repair and tissue reconstruction. They can minimize scarring at the surgical site through a variety of means, such as skin grafting.

Prior to your operation, Dr. Johnson and Dr. Wimalawansa will discuss the options available to you.