Does Your Dermatologist Check Your Feet?

Cancerous skin lesions can develop anywhere that there is skin. Sounds obvious, right? Many well trained dermatologists concentrate their examinations of the skin on areas that get the most sun exposure. You don't have to have alot of sun exposure to develop basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, or malignant melanoma. There is no way to know for sure that a skin lesion is or is not cancer. A clinical exam can give a high degree of probability one way or another, but the pathologist that looks at the lesion under a microscope is the one that decides what it truly is. We perform biopsies and excisions of skin lesions or masses on a regular basis. The great majority of the time this can be done in the office under simple local anesthesia. The specimen is then sent to a lab where the dermatopathologists(pathologists that concentrate on skin lesions) give the final diagnosis. Some times a deeper or wider excision is needed in order to get a border that is free of cancer cells, but most of the time the lesion is removed and the localized condition resolved. We give peace of mind to many people concerned about these lesions. Call our office for an evaluation and exam if you or a loved one may have a questionable skin lesion on your lower extremities.