Surgical excision of periocular basal cell carcinomas

The purpose of this study was to determine the histological clearance and clinical recurrence rates following excision of primary periocular biopsy-proven basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) in a teaching hospital in United Kingdom and compare it with other published reports. Records of consecutive patients with a biopsy proven diagnosis of primary periocular BCCs treated surgically at our hospital between 1995 and March 2003 were reviewed. Twenty seven cases (25 patients) were identified. Intra-operative frozen sections (IFS) were performed in 17 (63%) of the cases with clear margins on IFS in 16/17 (94%) of these cases. Histology revealed complete excision in 25/27 (92.5%) of cases. The results of excision of periocular BCCs in our setting particularly with IFS are comparable with other published reports. A reaudit is recommended in 5 years to allow a larger patient population with greater follow up, which would enable us to give more definitive judgment on this treatment modality.