Skin Surgery

When you need skin surgery, you want to be sure you choose a highly-skilled, board-certified dermatologist like Gangaram Ragi, MD, of Saddle River Skin and Mohs Surgery, LLC. Dr. Ragi, a leading expert in Mohs surgery for skin cancer, also performs numerous surgical techniques to treat a wide range of common skin lesions. To learn more about skin surgery or schedule a procedure, book an appointment online or call the office in Saddle River, New Jersey, today.

What is skin surgery?

Skin surgery at Saddle River Skin and Mohs Surgery, LLC, includes many medically necessary procedures to diagnose and treat skin growths and other lesions. Most skin surgeries are done in the office using a local anesthetic. As a result, they don’t pose the same risks associated with major surgeries using general anesthesia.

What conditions might skin surgery treat?

Skin surgery includes removing a wide range of common and serious skin lesions. A lesion is any part of your skin that looks different from the surrounding skin or has a growth.

Common skin lesions removed during skin surgery include:

• Cysts
• Moles
• Warts
• Skin tags
• Lipomas
• Seborrheic keratoses
• Actinic keratoses
• Skin cancer

Saddle River Skin and Mohs Surgery, LLC, specializes in performing surgery to remove skin cancer, including melanoma and basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas.

What techniques does skin surgery utilize?

Your provider uses different surgical techniques depending on the underlying problem. A few examples include:

• Shave biopsy (uses a razor-like device to remove thin layers of skin)
• Punch biopsy (uses a round device to remove a small but deep section of skin)
• Incisional biopsy (uses a scalpel to remove a small patch of skin)
• Skin excision (uses a scalpel to remove an entire lump or lesion)
• Curettage (uses a ring- or loop-shaped device to scrape away lesions)
• Electrodesiccation (uses electricity to remove unwanted tissues)
• Laser excision (uses laser energy to remove a lesion)
• Cryotherapy (destroys the lesion through freezing)

After removing tissues, your provider sends them to a lab. The trained lab technicians or pathologists examine the tissues under a microscope, identifying the types of cells and diagnosing infections, diseases, or cancer.

What type of skin surgery eliminates cancer?

Suspicious-looking moles or lesions may be removed using excisional surgery. But if you have skin cancer, your provider recommends Mohs surgery, a technique that’s preferred because it cures 99% of new cancers.

Mohs is a precise surgical technique that requires specialized training. Your provider removes the visible lesion and examines it under a microscope. If any cancer cells remain, they remove one thin layer of tissue, look at it under the microscope, and repeat the process until all signs of cancer are gone.

Call Saddle River Skin and Mohs Surgery, LLC, or book an appointment online today if you need help with skin lesions or want to schedule skin surgery.