What is a wide excision? My doctor is recommending a wide excision for my melanoma.

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PeterBeitschMD (Physician - Surgery - Surgical Oncology (Verified) ) - 04 / 09 / 2012

The wide excision part of your surgery to to remove any melanoma cells that are in the vicinity of your primary (original) melanoma. The amount of skin that is removed varies somewhat by location for cosmetic (face) or functional (hand) reasons but generally for melanoma thickness <1mm - 1 cm in all directions is removed, for 1-2mm melanomas- 2cm in all directions and >2mm melanomas -= 3cm in all directions. These excisions usually create a circle of skin missing. Circles can't be closed into a straight line so a 'flap' must be created to fill the space. This 'flap' is either an elongation of the circle wide excision into an ellipse (the ellipse must be 3 times as long as it is wide to close properly) or a rotation flap (where skin from beside the wide excision is elevated and rotated into the defect). The incisions are always longer than you expect so don't worry that it was 'too long' - it is only as big as is necessary to remove the melanoma.
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