Treatment at the Skin Doctor
You will be asked about your personal history and family history with skin cancers, your occupational history, any previous excisions, history of sun exposure and frequency of sun protection.
In order to examine you carefully, we will need to expose as much skin as possible. The rooms are set to allow for maximal privacy, so please wear underwear you are comfortable in. you will be provided with a gown or sheet to allow us to inspect different areas at a time.
You should let the doctor know which lesions you are most concerned about.
If you are concerned about a skin lesion on your scalp, or that is covered by underwear, please let the doctor know so we can examine these areas with your consent.
We can perform a wide variety of skin procedures in the Green Square Health treatment area including, but not limited to;
- Cryotherapy: where we use liquid nitrogen to freeze the lesion and the healthy skin under it. This starves it of blood supply, and a blister will push the lesion off. This is great for spots such as seborrheic keratosis, and actinic keratosis
- Curettage: the area is numbed and a little curette (surgical spoon) is used to scrape away the abnormal cells
- Punch biopsy: where we capture the lesion with a single 3mm, 4mm, or 6mm punch and close the wound with 1-2 sutures
- Shave biopsy: some larger or irregular lesions that are very superficial can be removed by shaving the lesion off then sent for examination and diagnosis
- Excisional biopsy: if appropriate, we will excise the lesion whole and send for diagnosis
- Surgical excision: if the laboratory report returns as specific types of cancer, these may need wider excisions to ensure the cancer is completely removed and reduce the risk of spread or recurrence
- Skin grafting and flap repairs: if a lesion is particularly large, or in an area where there is difficulty closing the skin afterwards, we can perform a flap procedure to cover the skin or perform a graft using skin obtained from another site on your body
If you’re concerned at all about a lesion, or would like some peace of mind, book with one of our fantastic skin cancer doctors today!
