Dr. Yee—our board-certified plastic surgeon—works with local dermatologists and surgical oncologists to treat skin cancer and reconstruct areas after cancer excision. She is a member of the Sutter Melanoma Tumor Board, which is a group of oncologists, surgeons, and radiation oncologists at Sutter Santa Rosa and CPMC (San Francisco) who coordinate and plan care for complex melanoma cases. She also works with local Mohs (micrographic surgery) doctors and reconstructs the defects left after Mohs; generally these can be planned so that the reconstruction is performed the day following the excision.
Reconstruction can involve rearranging the local tissues, creating a flap, or placing a skin graft. Dr. Yee will discuss these options with you, and the plan will depend on the location of the cancer as well as your preference. Normally after any surgery Dr. Yee recommends keeping the scars protected from the sun, to avoid excess pigmentation depositing in the scar, but this is especially important if you’ve had skin cancer, as sun exposure is the number one risk factor contributing to skin cancer development. Close follow-up with your dermatologist is also very important, to monitor for new cancers or recurrence.
If you think that you may have skin cancer, please email us or call to schedule a consultation with Dr. Yee.