PROCEDURES

CURETTAGE & CAUTERISATION

This is a surgical procedure to scrape off a skin lesion using a sharp blade. Cautery is then used to stop the bleeding and seal the wound after. This method is useful for raised friable lesions that are easily scraped from the skin surface, such as:

• Warts
• Spider nevi
• Skin tags
• Seborrheic keratoses
• Angiomas
• Actinic keratoses
• Seborrhoeic keratoses
• Pyogenic granuloma
• Certain small BCCs, SCCs - in which the cauterisation destroys any residual tumour cells

WHAT DOES THE PROCEDURE INVOLVE?

Using local anesthesia, Dr Spengane will numb the area. She will then scrape off the skin lesion using a sharp ring blade (curette). The surface of the wound is then cauterized using a metal needle which applies high-frequency electric currents to stop the bleeding and seal the wound. Care is taken to minimise scarring, and the cosmetic outcome is usually satisfactory.