Category Archives: Plastic Surgery
Melanoma: Its mainly about U.V exposure, (but not always).
We know that ultra-violet radiation (UV) is a carcinogen and that sun exposure or indoor tanning are risk factors for melanoma. However we also know that not all melanomas are due to UV exposure. In a recent study from the American Cancer Society investigators tried to qualify the amount of melanoma that is related to […]
Make sure your dog keeps its paws off you medicine!
Dogs will eat anything! So be careful not to give them the opportunity to ingest your medications. In a recent publication it became clear that there have been several deaths of pets as a result of them ingesting the topical cream 5-Flurouracil (Efudex or Carac). This topical chemotherapy cream is often used in humans to […]
Skin Cancer and Internal Malignancy. Another thing to worry about!
Patients with a history of a none melanoma skin cancer such as basal cell or squamous cell cancer are at higher risk of subsequent basal cell or squamous cell cancers. However a recent study from Korea has suggested that these patient may also be at risk for other types of malignancies such as bone cancer or […]
Younger generation seem to be getting the message about melanoma!
While the overall incidence of melanoma seems to be on the rise, there was a significant lowering in the rate of melanoma in among adolescents (10–19 years of age) and young adults (20–29 years of age). Using registry data, these authors evaluated 988,103 cases of invasive melanoma and found that, the overall incidence of melanoma […]
Sniffing Out Malignant Melanoma
Not for the first time, an article that suggests that dogs can “smell” a melanoma and react to it. A 43 year old women presented to her doctor for evaluation of a mole on her back that had been present since childhood. She described how recently her 2 year old rescue dog had been frequently […]
Mohs for Melanoma
Fredrick Mohs, the founder of the technique that caries his name, used his method for the treatment of Melanoma as well as basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas. Since then Mohs surgery has become the gold standard for treating none melanoma skin cancer. However more recent data is confirming the fact that Mohs surgery can work as […]
Sex Matters: Men With Melanoma Have a Worse Prognosis Than Women
We already know that men tend to present to the doctor with melanomas that are on average more advanced than the melanomas found in women. However, a recent study from the Netherlands found that even when you take into account this difference, men overall have a worse prognosis than women as far as melanoma goes. […]
A biopsy may not give the whole story
Surely when you get a final pathology report from a biopsy you have a definitive diagnosis? Well not always. While diagnosing a basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell cancer is usually pretty straightforward, the biopsy is only a sample of a larger tumor. So what is seen on the biopsy may not be identical to […]
Too Much or Too Little?
Mohs surgery is considered the gold standard for the treatment of most skin cancers. However, not all Mohs surgeons perform the procedure the same way. When performing Mohs micrographic surgery for the treatment of skin cancer, the surgeon starts by removing what he/she estimates to be “just enough” tissue to clear the cancer. Obviously, you […]
Melanomas are not always dark
Most people would be concerned about a mole that became very dark. Any we know that the vast majority of melanomas are pigmented, that is they look black, brown or maybe dark blue and often more than one shade or color. However “amelanotic” melanomas are uncommon form of melanomas that have no pigmentation. They may […]