Surgeons routinely treat a wide variety of skin and soft tissue problems. These range from benign skin lesions, benign cysts, fatty tumors, and pre-cancerous skin lesions that may be treated in the office, to malignant tumors of the skin and underlying muscle that may require more extensive surgical treatment.
Skin biopsy is a relatively simple but essential procedure in the management of skin disorders.
Lipoma: This is a common benign (noncancerous) tumor that is made up of adipose tissue (body fat). Lipomas are soft to the touch and are usually painless. They are removed as an outpatient surgery by direct excision (cutting out) and closure.
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is a common skin cancer arising from the basal layer of epidermis and its appendages. These tumors have been referred to as “epitheliomas” because of their low metastatic potential. However, the term carcinoma is appropriate, since they are locally invasive, aggressive, and destructive of skin and the surrounding structures including bone.
Desmoid tumors are locally aggressive tumors with no known potential for metastasis or dedifferentiation
Melanoma. Surgical excision is the treatment of choice for early cutaneous melanoma and is curative in most cases
Hydradenitis is a chronic inflammatory skin condition. The primary sites of involvement for hydradenitis are the intertriginous skin areas of the axillary, groin, perianal, perineal, and inframammary regions. The clinical manifestations vary, ranging from recurrent inflamed nodules and abscesses to draining sinus tracts and bands of severe scar formation. The associated pain, malodor, drainage, and disfigurement that accompany hydradenitis contribute to a profound psychosocial impact of the disease on many patients.
Nail problems: Nail disorders, particularly ingrown, incurved, pincer, hypertrophic, infected, and painful nails, are common conditions in adults.
Melanocytic nevi (moles): Melanocytic nevi are benign proliferations of a type of melanocyte known as a “nevus cell.”
Skin infection/ abscess
Pilonidal disease: A pilonidal sinus is a small hole or tunnel in the skin at the top of the buttocks, where they divide (the cleft). Most people with a pilonidal sinus don’t notice it unless it becomes infected and causes symptoms. An infection will cause pain and swelling, and a pus-filled abscess can develop.