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Five–year results of curettage–cryosurgery of selected large primary basal cell carcinomas on the nose: an alternative treatment in a geographical area underserved by Mohs' surgery
Author(s) -
NORDIN P.,
LARKÖ O.,
STENQUIST B.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
british journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.304
H-Index - 179
eISSN - 1365-2133
pISSN - 0007-0963
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2133.1997.d01-1165.x
Subject(s) - cryosurgery , curettage , nose , medicine , basal cell carcinoma , surgery , mohs surgery , basal cell , dermatology , pathology
Summary Mohs' micrographic surgery (MMS) is the recommended treatment for large basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) of the nose. This 5–year follow–up study attempts to evaluate whether curettage–cryosurgery (CC) could be an alternative therapy in a country where optimal resources for MMS are lacking. All patients with a primary nasal or perinasal BCC, 10 mm or larger in diameter, were assessed at a skin tumour clinic. Sixty–one BCCs of non–morphoeiform type were treated with CC. Most of the tumour was removed by careful curettage with different sized curettes. The tumour area was then frozen with liquid nitrogen in a double freeze–thaw cycle. Fifty patients were followed for at least 5 years with only one recurrence. The cosmetic result was good or acceptable in all patients. A thorough curettage followed by cryosurgery could be a safe and inexpensive alternative therapy even for large primary non–morphoeiform BCCs of the nose.