title: Small margin (2 mm) excision of peri-ocular basal cell carcinoma with delayed repair.
abstract: Successful surgical treatment of peri-ocular basal cell carcinomas requires complete excision. Mohs' micrographic surgery achieves this, but is not readily available in all hospitals. The standard 3-4 mm margin does not guarantee complete excision and histology is often not available until after a repair has been undertaken. The 3-4 mm margin has evolved to deal with all forms of BCC. In our opinion, this margin is unnecessarily large for nodular/ulcerative BCC. We report our interim results of excision of localised BCCs using a 2 mm margin in conjunction with a delayed repair following confirmation of histological clearance. Thirty-one patients were treated in this manner; there have been no recurrences after an average follow-up period of 36 months (range 24-57 months).
authors.affiliation: Bristol Eye Hospital, Bristol, England,U.K.
authors.forename: D B.
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: David
authors.forename: M L.
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Gimblett
authors.forename: M J.
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Potts
authors.forename: R A.
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Harrad