Scalpel excision of basal cell carcinomas

A total of 468 coded, histologically proved basal cell carcinomas were excised from 446 patients in the Skin and Cancer Unit of New York University Medical Center from 1955 to 1967. The five-year cumulative recurrence rate was 6.8%. The highest recurrence rates, in areas in which sufficient data were available, were for the periocular regions, the scalp, and the nose and paranasal areas. Following re-treatment of recurrences, 464 of the 468 lesions (99.1%) were cured at the time of the most recent examination. After the second postoperative year, at least 70% of results were recorded as cosmetically good or excellent at the time of last follow-up. The most common complication was hypertrophic scars. There was a tendency for increasing incidence of such scars with increasing diameters of the lesions.