Surgical management of Basal cell carcinomas (BCC) of the Head and Neck

Volume 15 , Issue 1 , December 2013 , Pages 13-30

Authors

¹ Kurdistan Board for Medical specialties, Erbil, Iraq

Ninety six consecutive cases of BCC of the face and head and neck were managed

during 8 years. 51 patients were female and the rest were male. The average age of

presentation was 64Years. The size of majority of lesions (85%) were less than 10mm.

Lesions appeared mainly on mid face around the nose, inner canthus and forehead. 10.5%

had multiple lesions on presentation. All lesions were managed surgically by total excision

of the lesions with 5mm free healthy skin margin and the defect reconstructed

simultaneously by various types of local or distant skin flaps. The effectiveness of this

procedure was 94% cure rate. The average follow up was 2 years (9-36 months). Ten

patients(10.4%) required second surgical resection as they developed recurrence at the

site of primary resection. Eleven patients (11.4%) showed another lesion on the face

during follow up period. Surgical resection and primary reconstruction of BCCs of the

head and neck are highly recommended and give good success and high percentage

(around 94%) of cure rate. Long term follow up is recommended as new lesions or

recurrence may appear years after management.

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