Dermatologic SurgeryRecurrence rates of primary basal cell carcinoma in facial risk areas treated with curettage and electrodesiccation
Section snippets
CE section
All patients were treated in a tertiary teaching hospital in Oviedo, Spain, by a single dermatologist (T. R-V.) with more than 30 years of experience in the procedure, in a section specializing in BCC CE.
CE technique
The same type of curettes (standard round and oval head Fox, 4-10 mm in longest diameter, Aesculap, Tuttlingen, Germany) and electrodesiccation equipment (Erbetom T400C model, Erbe, Tübingen, Germany) (level 4 was the power setting used for electrodesiccation, with approximately 40-55 W) was
Results
The number of BCCs and their stratification according to the location and size is shown in Table I. A total of 176 tumors were located at high-risk sites and 81 tumors were located at medium-risk sites.
Data for follow-up time after treatment are also shown in Table I. The range of follow-up time was 1 to 8 years, with a mean of 5.34 years (SD 1.33).
There were 3 recurrences. One was located on the nose, one on the eyelid, and one on the periauricular area. All recurrences were observed between
Discussion
There are several excellent reviews reporting RR after CE of BCC,3, 10 and systematic reviews1, 11 and guidelines for the management of BCC edited by several dermatologic associations.12, 13, 14 Nevertheless, controversy remains. It is generally accepted that when correctly treated with CE by experts, cure rates of more than 95% can be expected for appropriately selected BCC.12, 13, 14 The types of BCC that should not be treated by CE include large tumors, infiltrating, fibrosing, and recurrent.
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