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Skin Surgery
As part of the dermatology clinic, you may undergo a procedure under local anaesthetic. Your small operation is required as we need to either completely remove a skin lesion (called excision) or take a small sample of a lesion (called a biopsy).
Before the procedure
Blood thinning medication
If you are taking clopidogrel, aspirin, apixaban, edoxaban, rivaroxaban, dabigatran you DO NOT need to stop this prior to your procedure. If you are on warfarin, you will need to have an INR level done within 72-hours of your appointment. Your INR will need to be less than 3 for the procedure to go ahead.
Eating & drinking
You can eat and drink as normal before your procedure. If you have a morning appointment, make sure to have some breakfast and if your surgery is in the afternoon keep hydrated throughout the day and have some lunch; this will help to reduce the chances of suffering from low blood pressure during your procedure.
Driving
Under most circumstances you will be able to drive after your procedure. If this is not going to be the case the doctor will discuss this with you.
During the Procedure
Local anaesthetic
The procedure will be conducted using a local anaesthetic injection to numb the skin; this is similar to the numbing injections used at the dentist.
Time
The majority of procedures should take around 30-minutes.
Surgical Team
Doctors or specialist nurses provide skin surgery depending on the nature of the procedure being undertaken.
After the Procedure
You will be given written information specific to the procedure you have had done giving you advice about post-operative care.
Results
Results are available around 8-weeks later. This can vary depending on hospital turn-around times. If you have not had your results communicated to you or contacted for a follow-up appointment 10-weeks after your procedure, it is advised that you contact the clinical services team on 01227 284314 so this can be looked into.
