Skin Cancer Treatment

We perform a variety of skin cancer treatments depending on the type and location of skin cancer:

Cryotherapy:

Cryotherapy involves the use of liquid nitrogen to destroy abnormal cells. It is often used to treat precancerous actinic keratoses or very early superficial skin cancers.

Electrodessication and Curettage:

Electrodessication and Curettage is a very effective technique for certain superficial skin cancers with low malignant potential. After numbing of the area, a tool is used to scrape the abnormal tissue away. Any bleeding is stopped, and the wound is left to heal without stitches.

Surgical Excision:

Surgical excision is often used for deeper skin cancers for which other less invasive modalities are inadequate. After local anesthesia (patients are fully awake) is used to numb the area around the skin cancer, the cancerous tissue is removed along with a small amount of normal appearing tissue. The removed tissue is sent to a dermatopathologist to confirm that all cancerous tissue has been removed. The wound is then sutured together. Depending on the size and location of the wound, patients may be required to come back for suture removal. Patients may be advised to refrain from strenuous activity for a certain length of time after the procedure to give the wound the best chance to heal.

Topical Therapy:

Topical therapy such as Efudex or Aldara is occasionally used for precancerous lesions or very early superficial skin cancers.

Photodynamic Therapy:

Photodynamic therapy treats premalignant growths (actinic keratoses) by using topical photosensitizing medications, along with light, to destroy pre-cancerous cells.

Mohs Surgery:

To learn more about Mohs Surgery click here.