Cutaneous Oncologic Surgery: The Dermatologists Perspective

In dermatologic surgery, the organization of the office must be adapted to the practice of surgery, the practitioner must be trained and competent. As in any surgical specialty, special care is taken in preoperative consultation. The majority of dermatologic surgery is performed in the office under local anesthesia. However, the comfort and safety of the patient and the surgeon are sometimes compromised by complex, prolonged surgery with high risk of hemorrhagic damage, the use of high doses of local anesthetic or by pain, stress and age of the patient. The anesthesiologist can then help the dermatologist by taking care of patients, giving them the benefit of a regional anesthesia, conscious sedation or general anesthesia. For the proper surgical management of malignant skin tumors, the carcinological imperative must be given priority with the proper assessment of tumor limits, to respect the repairs in aesthetic units with a choice of the right techniques, and to resort to multidisciplinary support if necessary.