The following photographs are of Dr Wassall's patients. They are designed to demonstrate typical surgical outcomes that can be expected. Dr Wassall routinely uses a combination of buried sutures and superficial skin sutures when closing wounds. This is the technique employed by most Plastic Surgeons. Deep sutures help support the wound once the skin sutures are removed and help avoid the wound stretching in the future. This improves cosmetic outcomes.

Elliptical Closure

The vast majority of skin cancers can be removed with a standard elliptical closure. 

The following case illustrates a 72 year old gentleman with a squamous cell carcinoma on his lower leg. 
Please click on the first image to follow the series of images demonstrating the various stages of surgery and wound healing. 
It is important that a margin of normal tissue be included beyond the area of visible skin cancer. This is to reduce the risk of incomplete excision or recurrence. Many doctors take inadequate margins when excising skin cancers.

The following case illustrates a 73 year old lady with a basal cell carcinoma on her back. 
Please click on the first image to follow the series of images demonstrating the various stages of surgery and wound healing. 

The following case illustrates a 67 year old gentleman with a basal cell carcinoma on his forearm.  Please click on the first image to follow the series of images demonstrating the various stages of surgery and wound healing. 

Flap Closures

Sometimes it is necessary to close a surgical defect with what is known as a flap repair. This can be done in a variety of ways and usually involves either rotating or advancing skin from an adjacent area into the defect left after removing the skin cancer. Flaps are usually performed in order to maintain function or to enhance the cosmetic outcome eg. a direct elliptical closure near an eyebrow may cause a permanently elevated brow on one side. There has been criticism of some doctors working in Skin Cancer Clinics performing excessive numbers of flap procedures for financial gain.

The following case illustrates a 66 year old gentleman with a basal cell carcinoma near his lower eyebrow.  In this series of photographs, a technique known as a rhomboid flap has been used to close the defect following removal of a skin cancer on the temple. A flap was chosen to avoid the eyebrow being distorted by a direct closure.
Please click on the first image to follow the series of images demonstrating the various stages of surgery and wound healing. 

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