Dr. Davidson's Homepage

Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery

About the Author

Aging Face Surgery

Anesthesia

Blepharoplasty

Chemical Peel

Chin Augmentation

Complications

Evaluation for Facial Plastic Surgery

Facelift

Forehead Lift

General Instructions to Patients

Hair Replacement

Healing

Liposuction

Otoplasty

Rhinoplasty

Risks with Facial Plastic Surgery

Scalpels, LASERs and Endoscopes

Scar Revision

Skin Cancer

Submental Lipectomy

The Cost

Who Does Facial Plastic Surgery?

Why the University?

Skin Cancer

Skin cancer is an epidemic disease in this country. The majority of skin cancer occurs about the face, neck and the back of the hands, and is caused primarily by the ultraviolet radiation in sunlight. Skin cancers can be recognized as any change in the skin and can appear as a flaky, scaling area, as an itch, as a non-healing sore or as a tumor growth. If you have any areas about which you are suspicious, you should show them to your physician. There are many ways of treating skin cancer, and they should be individualized for the person and for the tumor. Some very superficial tumors can be treated by applying a medicine called 5-fluorouracil to the skin, but most tumors need to be treated by some surgical technique. In the past, tumors were treated with radiation or with freezing, but these techniques have not been as successful, have not created cosmetically acceptable results and are infrequently used today. The best treatment for skin cancer, therefore, is a surgical removal with a reconstruction at the time of surgery. The overall cure rate for skin cancer is 90 to 95%. There is a small group of cancers that recur, and these tumors are locally much more aggressive. These tumors must be removed, and the margins examined by a technique called Mohs chemosurgery. The cure rate for this kind of aggressive skin cancer is only 50%, but using the technique of Mohs, the cure rate is improved to 90%. This may require multiple excisions, but when the tumor is finally totally removed, the area can be safely reconstructed.

The most important thing you should know about skin cancer is its prevention. Prevention consists of keeping the ultraviolet radiation away from the skin. This can be done by avoiding sun exposure, by wearing hats and sunglasses, and by wearing sunscreens. Sunscreens filter the ultraviolet rays that cause skin cancer and cause aging, but they do not adversely affect one's ability to suntan. Therefore, anytime you are in the sunglight you should wear a sunscreen.