Facial skin cancer: our surgical experience
In: Romanian Journal of Military Medicine, Band 124, Heft 1, S. 100-104
ISSN: 2501-2312
Abstract: Skin cancer represents an important part of the plastic surgeon's practice, and surgical excision followed by reconstruction is the most frequently used procedure. The main objective of this paper is to report and evaluate our experience in the treatment of facial nonmelanoma skin cancer. Method. The study is based on 303 patients who were diagnosed with facial malignant tumors, between 2004 and 2015, in the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Clinic, Emergency University Hospital Bucharest Romania. We statistically analyzed the distribution by age, gender, facial location, the time from onset until the presentation, the type of tumor, the size of the tumor, the margin status, and the recurrence. Results were as follows: median age at 70 years, with an even gender distribution. The most affected areas were the cheek, followed by the nose, forehead, and eyelids. We calculated the dimensions of the tumors between 1.57 mm2 and 1,846 mm2 , with a median value at 235 mm2 , and a mean value at 421.23 mm2 . Patients in whom safe margins were not obtained had a 4.15 times higher relapse rate versus the ones with safe margins at the first intervention, with a high statistical significance – p=0.002 (15% recurrence rate if safe margins were not obtained, versus 4.1% if margins were safe). Conclusion. When discussing tumor excisions, one of the most controversial topics is that of safety edges. Currently, even if there are recommendations, a unified protocol is not formulated, which is why we found it useful to research this topic with extensive medical associations. Keywords: skin cancer, tumor excision, safety edge