Surgical results in 477 basal cell carcinomas

The hospital records of 406 patients treated for basal cell carcinomas were reviewed. Seventy-nine percent of the tumors were located to the head and neck area. All tumors were excised with a macroscopic margin of at least 3 mm. The surgical defects were closed primarily in 351 cases (74%), skin grafted in 108 cases (22%) and covered with local flaps in 18 cases (4%). Twenty patients (4%) required re-excision because of microscopically inadequate margins. Recurrence of the tumor was seen in 11 patients (2%).