What is a Wide Excision?

In a wide excision, the skin cancer and a small margin of healthy tissue around it is cut out, usually in a football-shaped ellipse. Once the tissue has been removed, the edges of the wound are sutured together. The tissue then is sent for processing and margin evaluation by a pathologist.

Wide  excisions are often used for Basal Cell Carcinomas and Squamous Cell Carcinomas on lower risk body sites (such as the body or arms/legs) and for early stage melanomas that still are confined to the skin and have not spread into deep levels of tissue or other parts of the body. If caught early, the procedure can cure melanoma. In other cases, additional treatments may be required.

Since wide excisions require the removal of a margin of healthy skin, they result in a larger wound.