Surgical treatment of skin cancer

Eight hundred and twenty cases of skin cancer treated surgically at Saint Luke's Hospital over a ten-year period were reviewed retrospectively. Those undergoing excision, ie simple excision and primary closure, had significantly shorter hospitalization than those requiring grafts or amputation. The only prognostic factor in this particular series identified for local recurrence was a past history of skin carcinoma. Surgery was effective both as primary treatment and after failed irradiation. Local recurrence rates for skin carcinoma and melanoma were 8% and 10% respectively.