Are there any complications I should know about?
Skin surgery is generally extremely safe and it is very unusual to develop any serious complications. Some of the commoner complications of skin surgery are as follows:
Scarring
It is impossible to perform any surgical procedure without leaving a scar, however many scars may be slight or unnoticeable once they have healed. Every effort is made to minimise and disguise scarring for larger procedures. Some patients are genetically prone to develop raised scars (called keloid or hypertrophic scars), particularly for operations on the chest and back. You should let your dermatologist know if you or anyone in your family has had a problem with scars. Scars on the back often spread slightly with time, even with excellent surgical technique. Minimising heavy lifting, stretching, bending over or exertion (e.g. gym) for several weeks after surgery can reduce the chance of this happening.
Wound Infection
Serious infections after skin surgery are extremely rare. About 1 in 20-30 patients can develop a local wound infection after surgery and this is usually easily treated with tablet antibiotics. If a wound infection does occur it may present with be increasing redness, swelling, discomfort or weeping of the wound starting about 3-4 days after the surgery. If you are worried you should contact your dermatologist.
Bruising or Bleeding
Bruising is common after skin surgery (particularly on the face and forehead) and clears up completely. If you develop extensive bruising with a firm swelling under the skin you should contact your dermatologist. If the wound starts to actively bleed after surgery you should sit or lie down and apply firm, uninterrupted pressure over the wound for 15 minutes. If this fails reapply pressure, again uninterrupted, for a further 20 minutes. If bleeding cannot be stopped, you should contact a doctor or attend a casualty department (A and E).
Unfortunately, people who smoke cigarettes are much more likely to develop complications and to have wounds which heal more slowly with more significant scarring. This is because cigarette smoke contains chemicals which not only reduce blood flow to healing wounds, but also which impair the formation of scar tissue itself. If you smoke it would be advisable to stop for at least 2 days before the surgical procedure and for 1 week afterwards.
Other complications can occasionally occur depending on the site and type of procedure.
