Skin Surgery for GPs

Skin surgery has long been a fundamental skill for GPs. We have offered surgery for the things that the hospital frequently has no time for – namely, cysts, small lipomas, dermatofibromas, symptomatic naevi, skin tags, ingrown toenails, troublesome keratoses and latterly frequently under a LES low-risk BCC.

Here at the ASPC we wish to offer our support to our membership in developing their skills in this arena so that they can offer a safe, effective and efficient surgical service in the community. Patients find this extremely satisfactory, especially when they do not have the complications of attending hospital.

How do we do this?

Principally we do this by offering high quality training in all aspects of skin surgery including diagnostics, surgical technique and much more.

We feel it is essential that we know what we are cutting out before we tackle it.

Training in diagnostics is central to this. As a result, the ‘accidental melanoma or SCC’ will be a rare event. I never say never as some lesions will fox any of us and we shouldn’t feel embarrassed if it happens.

We have offered some very successful educational content with nationally renowned speakers on dermatoscopy and lesion recognition. This is something we plan to continue.

https://dermnetnz.org

We also supply training in surgical technique and offer masterclasses in a wide spectrum of surgical techniques including curettage, cryotherapy, simple excisions and more complex skin closure techniques. Events happen throughout the year and our friendly skin surgery leads are always happy to share helpful hints and tips that may well help you manage a sticky situation one day.

For those of you who wish to move beyond simple skin closure we also offer advice and training in basic flaps and skin grafts and we offer hands on training in these areas for those community surgeons who are interested.

The demand for skin surgery has exploded. Hospitals are flooded with malignancies and so there is very little room left for the symptomatic but benign lesions. This is where we come in! GP skin surgery has a very bright future. The better we are prepared and trained, the better the service we deliver will be and the happier our patients will be.

We look forward to welcoming you to our training events and courses going forward.

Miles Scholar GPwER and Schedule II practitioner in Plastic Surgery. Royal Surrey County Hospital Foundation NHS Trust