ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Dermatosurgery has been gaining in importance in recent years. STUDY AIMS: The aim of our study was to describe this activity to increase its value and to inform the other specialists and the general public. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a national prospective study during one month in the hospital centers and university teaching hospitals in France and among the members of the Surgical Group of the Société française de dermatologie. Data were collected with a pre-established questionnaire. They were captured on EpiData 3.1 and Excel software package and were analysed using the SPSS 15.0 software package. RESULTS: The participation of dermatology departments in hospital was 66.7 %. For the members of the surgical group, it was 43.1 %. A total of 2308 dermatological surgical procedures was performed. The mean age was 55.5 years ± 20.7. Three hundred and thirty-six (14.6 %) procedures were performed with antiplatelet agents or anticoagulants. The excisions of skin cancers were carry out with no previous biopsy in 71.3 % of cases. We described repairs in one time in the majority of cases (92.2 %), and the most frequent type of procedure was direct closure (83.4 %). Complete excision was obtained directly in 95.2 % of cases and the clinicopathological correlation was also excellent (89.5 %). Three percent of patients suffered complications during or following surgery and these complications were more frequent with the patients treated by antithrombotic medications. CONCLUSION: This is, in our knowledge, the first prospective study on dermatosurgery activity practised by dermatologists in France. The important rate of participation exemplified the implications of dermatologists in the treatment of skin cancers with an optimal follow-up.
