Skin surgery risks and complications Tūraru me pīroiroitanga o te pokanga kiri
Skin surgery carries some risk of complications such as infections and nerve damage. Your doctor will make every effort to reduce risk and minimise complications.
Before your surgery
The specific risks for your surgery will depend on:
- the type of skin surgery you are having
- the reason you are having the surgery
- your general health.
You doctor will discuss the risks and possible complications with you before your surgery.
Even if you are having only minor skin surgery, you should do what you can to make sure you are in the best health possible before your procedure to reduce your risk of complications.
Wound infections and wound breakdown
If your wound becomes infected, you will need antibiotics.
Some wounds do not heal quickly, or occasionally the wound can reopen or need further surgery.
To reduce the risk of problems with your wounds, you need to treat them carefully until they are fully healed over — which often takes a few weeks. If you do physical work, talk to your doctor about when you can return to work.
Bruising, swelling and pain
To help reduce swelling and pain, try to keep the area raised in the week after your operation. Your healthcare provider can prescribe you some suitable pain relief.
Scarring
You will have scarring where the skin lesion has been removed. For most people, scars become paler over six months to a year. A few people get raised, red and thickened scars — called keloid or hypertrophic scars. Tell your surgeon if you have had this type of scar before.
Wounds that do not heal well at first may leave a worse scar.
Talk to your healthcare provider about what type of scarring to expect. But it is possible your scar may end up worse than expected.
Allergies
Some people are allergic to medications, dressings or rarely, stitches.
Tell your doctor if you have had a previous reaction.
Damage to nerves and blood vessels
Rarely, skin surgery can damage important surrounding structures such as nerves or blood vessels. The chance of this happening depends on where your skin surgery is and the type of surgery you need. This can be serious, depending on what is affected.
Recurrence of skin cancer
If you have had surgery for skin cancer, your cancer may return at the surgery site. The earlier this is detected the better. If you see any suspicious changes develop where you had the skin surgery, see your healthcare provider as soon as possible.
Ask your healthcare provider if you should have any monitoring after your skin cancer.