Outcomes of Skin Surgery: A Concise Visual Aid PDF

Introduction

Surgical procedures on the skin are carried out throughout the world and in many settings. They encompass two chief groups, the first of which is disease orientated. It includes procedures such as excision of benign and malignant tumours, diagnostic biopsies, cryosurgery, curettage for superficial lesions and photodynamic therapy. The second group is chiefly cosmetic in approach and includes chemical and laser peels, face lifts, liposuction and fillers.

This book concentrates on the procedures included in the first group and is intended to help people understand the types of outcome that can be expected from different procedures. It is common experience that some people have a neat, flat appendix scar while others might have a raised rather ragged-looking scar. In this case the reasons for a poorer outcome could include a wound infection, exercising too quickly after the operation and an individual's natural healing mechanisms.

It is clear that the results of skin surgery vary considerably between individuals and it is sensible to outline the range of possibilities at the outset. Sometimes the term ‘minor surgery' can give the impression that nothing can go wrong but there are side effects and possible complications from the simplest of procedures.

Any practitioner who undertakes procedures has a duty to be properly trained and to have adequate knowledge of all the possible outcomes of treatment. The process of consent involves discussion about the need for treatment and the natural history of the condition without intervention. The treatment options should be enumerated with brief discussion of their relative merits in terms of success and side effects and risks (i.e. the risk–benefit ratio).

The book has intentionally a limited text. It is designed to be shared, with the photographs, between doctors and patients. It highlights the side effects and complications, giving some idea of frequency, if known, and the factors which might increase the chance of a particular event.