Skin Cancer.

Skin cancer covers a wide spectrum of skin lesions that range from the relatively harmless, such as a basal carcinoma, to the very serious such as melanoma and sarcoma. As a result a clear diagnosis is critical in determining what your treatment needs to be, and how quickly it needs to happen. Most patients with concerning skin lesions present to their GP and are referred via a 2-week-wait urgent referral to their local NHS dermatology or plastic surgery service. In some instances you may be seen quicker in a private hospital. That said I would always urge patients to use their NHS facilities first as the standard of care for skin cancer is very good. I often see people who already have a diagnosis of skin cancer and would like to use their private health insurance to expedite their surgery.

Depending on the size of the skin lesion you may require reconstruction using local skin flaps and/or skin grafts. This is the specialist remit of a plastic surgeon and an area I have a lot of experience in, having done a specialist skin fellowship during my training as well as performing this regularly in my NHS practise.