Minor surgical procedures are done for removing a wide range of skin growths, including precancerous lesions and cancerous growths, as well as benign growths like skin tags, cysts, and lipomas. They can also be done for improving the appearance of scars.
Minor surgical procedures are done mostly using local anaesthesia in the doctor’s rooms. Types of skin surgery include:
Skin biopsy
(Punch biopsy, shave biopsy, incisional biopsy and excision biopsy.) A skin biopsy is the removal of a sample of skin. It is usually undertaken using a local anaesthetic injection into the skin to numb the area. After the procedure, a suture or dressing may be applied to the site of the biopsy.
Electrosurgery
Electrosurgery is used in dermatological procedures to stop bleeding (haemostasis) or to destroy abnormal skin growths.
Curettage and cautery
Curettage and cautery (one type of electrosurgery) is a procedure in which your dermatologist scrapes off a skin lesion and applies heat to the skin surface.
Excision
Excision refers to the removal of a skin lesion by completely cutting it out.
Mohs micrographic surgery
Mohs micrographic surgery (or Mohs surgery) is a precise surgical technique in which the complete excision of skin cancer is checked by microscopic margin control. It offers the highest cure rates while maximising the preservation of healthy tissue.
Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy refers to a treatment in which surface skin lesions are frozen with liquid nitrogen in most cases.
Dermabrasion and microdermabrasion
Dermabrasion is a skin resurfacing technique that is used to treat facial scarring. When it was first developed in the early 1950s it was used predominantly to improve acne scars, chickenpox marks and scars resulting from accidents or disease. Nowadays, dermabrasion — often using a dermapen — is also used to treat deep facial lines and wrinkles, for skin tightening and rejuvenation, severe sun-damaged skin, pigmentation disorders, and certain types of skin lesions and alopecias.