Skin cancer surgery and surgery of many types, to many doctors is a true art and a passion. For me, surgery is an enjoyable craft where you are able to combine creativity and motor skills with the ultimate goal of curing someone of cancer and potentially saving one’s life. The creativity component comes in the form of the planning of surgery. Large skin cancers or those on the face and in particular the nose/ears provide great challenges. Whilst the ultimate goal is to remove the cancer with a clear margin of normal skin in its surround, restoring as near to possible the original cosmetic appearance is critical. With good planning, good clinical acumen and top shelf technical execution, we will create a patient who is not only cured of their cancer, but will be happy with the end cosmetic result.
Becoming a skilled surgeon will often require hours of supervision, trial and error and practice, combined with a good understanding of best clinical practice and a thorough understanding of the underlying anatomy.
Through this blog, I hope to bring to doctors some insights into best practice and hopefully shorten the road between being an at best competent remover of small skin cancers in non critical cosmetic areas to a confident surgeon able to remove large and complex cancers in areas where the cosmetic result is important.
To this end, I will provide access to video footage of competent surgeons, tips and tricks gained through experience and links to resources to help us master our craft. I welcome the input from Surgeons and Skin Cancer Physicians and aim to facilitate the passing of knowledge in a field that is such an important health issue for many with fair anglosaxan skin in a harsh arid environment that is Australia.
