OVERVIEW

Skin conditions requiring surgical interventions include skin cancers, chronic wounds needing skin grafting or Pilonidal Abscess, Pilonidal cyst treatment. Other subcutaneous lesions such as lipomas, Dermal inclusions cysts or less common soft tissue tumours are also included in the list of surgeries Dr Botes performs

Surgical interventions for skin lesions include the following

• Skin biopsy: This can either be a punch biopsy done in rooms, with a specialized needle that removes about 4mm of skin to have it evaluated by a pathologist, or an excision biopsy where the lesion is removed for analysis. The type of biopsy would depend on the size and the location of the lesion.
• Wide Local Excision: This is typically done for a suspicious lesion in which case the entire lesion as well as a margin of healthy skin is removed. The extent would depend on what type of skin malignancy it is, as well as the site of the lesion
• Lumpectomy: For subcutaneous tumours such as Lipomas or dermal inclusion cyst, the tumour is removed entirely. If the growth is concerning, Dr Botes might obtain imaging first, and recommend tissue analysis prior to surgery.