S3 guideline "actinic keratosis and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma" - update 2023, part 2: epidemiology and etiology, diagnostics, surgical and systemic treatment of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), surveillance and prevention.

Actinic keratosis (AK) are common lesions in light-skinned individuals that can potentially progress to cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). Both conditions may be associated with significant morbidity and constitute a major disease burden, especially among the elderly. To establish an evidence-based framework for clinical decision making, the guideline "actinic keratosis and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma" was updated and expanded by the topics cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in situ (Bowen's disease) and actinic cheilitis. The guideline is aimed at dermatologists, general practitioners, ear nose and throat specialists, surgeons, oncologists, radiologists and radiation oncologists in hospitals and office-based settings, as well as other medical specialties, policy makers and insurance funds involved in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with AK and cSCC. A separate guideline exists for patients and their relatives. In this part, we will address aspects relating to epidemiology and etiology, diagnostics, surgical and systemic treatment of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), surveillance and prevention.

Surgical Therapy of Congenital Nevi in the First Year of Life-Psychological Impact on Parents.

BACKGROUND: The birth of a child with a congenital melanocytic nevus (CMN) can lead to distress in the parents. Surgical treatment of CMN can begin in infancy. OBJECTIVES: To provide insight into the perspective of parents of children with CMN regarding their experienced psychological burden and motivation to undergo surgery as well as their satisfaction. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of patient data of infants (< 1 year of age), who were surgically treated by power stretching for CMN using subcutaneous infiltration anesthesia (SIA) from 01/01/2020 to 08/31/2021. To evaluate the parent's motivation and psychological burden during the surgical treatment of their child, a questionnaire was designed to interview them in a standardized telephone-based interview. RESULTS: Out of 45 interviewed parents, 62.2% indicated "severe" or "very severe" distress at the time of their child's birth. Distress was mostly reduced by information about diagnosis and treatment (n = 34) and treatment-progress (n = 27). Stigmatization was experienced by 35.6% of parents. 84,5% of parents were highly satisfied with early initiation of surgical therapy. 69% felt "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with the outcome of surgery. Motivation for surgical therapy was concern about malignant transformation of the, possible stigmatization of the child due to the nevus, while most of the parents (73.3%) mentioned both. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical treatment of CMN by power stretching in SIA in infancy is associated with high levels of satisfaction among the children's parents. Early initiation of surgical therapy and education about the diagnosis can reduce the psychological burden of the parents and can prevent psychosocial problems in affected children.

Perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis in skin surgery - Position paper of the Antibiotic Stewardship working group of the German Society for Dermatologic Surgery (DGDC), Part 2: Special indications and situations.

In addition to prevention of surgical site infections after skin surgery, perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis (PAP) aims to prevent the occurrence of other postoperative infectious complications, especially bacterial endocarditis and hematogenous joint prosthesis infections. This article discusses specific indications for the use of PAP. For example, patients who have undergone any type of heart valve replacement, including transcatheter valve replacement or use of prosthetic material to correct the heart valve, or patients who have experienced bacterial endocarditis, require PAP during skin surgery on mucosal membranes or ulcerated tumors. The use of PAP in special situations such as secondary wound healing, septic dermatosurgery or ulcer surgery is also presented and discussed in detail in this paper based on the current scientific literature. This paper represents the second part of the position paper of the Antibiotic Stewardship Working Group of the German Society for Dermatologic Surgery (DGDC) and summarizes evidence-based recommendations for the administration of PAP during skin surgery for special indications and situations. This is particularly important because, as detailed in Part 1 of this position paper, PAP can and usually should be avoided in skin surgery.

[Micrographic controlled surgery in everyday dermatosurgery]. / Mikroskopisch kontrollierte Chirurgie im dermatochirurgischen Alltag.

Micrographic controlled surgery (MCS) has become established in dermatosurgery in recent years and includes various methods to enable the histologically proven complete resection of malignant cutaneous tumors, while at the same time sparing tumor-free tissue in the immediate vicinity as much as possible. MCS is of great importance in the surgical treatment of cutaneous malignancies in so-called problem locations and aggressive tumor subtypes. Indications for MCS include basal cell carcinoma, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, Bowen's disease and Bowen's carcinoma, melanoma in chronic light-damaged skin with acral lentiginous melanoma, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP), and Merkel cell carcinoma. However, other tumor entities are also treated using MCS, such as extramammary Paget's disease and various cutaneous sarcomas. All procedures subsumed under MCS have in common the marking of the surgical specimen for topographical orientation, which provides assignment of remaining tumor remnants. Various methods of MCS (3D histology, the horizontal method or Mohs surgery) are presented in this article. Furthermore, this article aims to raise awareness of the possibilities and limitations of micrographically controlled surgery.

Influence of perioperative antiplatelet and anticoagulant medication management on bleeding events in dermatosurgery-A prospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Perioperative management of antiplatelet and anticoagulant (AP/AC) therapy is a matter of balancing the risks of bleeding and thromboembolic events. Reliable data for dermatosurgery are still lacking, especially for direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC). OBJECTIVES: The aim was to prospectively evaluate the influence of AP/AC-medication on bleeding risk in dermatosurgery with focus on exact intervals between DOAC intake and procedure performed on post-operative bleeding. METHODS: Patients with or without AP/AC-therapy were included in the study without randomization. Exact times of DOAC-intake, procedure performed and post-operative bleeding were documented. Data collection was prospectively and standardized done by one person. RESULTS: We evaluated 1852 procedures in 675 patients. Post-operative bleeding occurred after 15.93% (n = 295) of all procedures, but only a few of them were severe (1.57%, n = 29). Compared to patients without AP/AC-medication, severe post-operative bleeding occurred significantly more often under dual antiplatelet therapy (11.76%, n = 2; p = 0.0166) and bridging of either vitamin K antagonist (9.09%, n = 2; p = 0.0270) or DOAC (15.38%, n = 2; p = 0.0099). There was no significant difference in the frequency of severe bleeding regarding to the preoperative DOAC-free period. CONCLUSIONS: Although AP/AC-therapy is associated with a significant higher rate of post-operative bleeding, no life-threatening bleeding was recorded. Long preoperative pausing or bridging of DOAC does not lead to significantly less severe bleeding events.

[Surgical treatment of nevi in children in a dermatological surgery center : Histopathology and complications]. / Operative Therapie von Nävi bei Kindern in einem dermatochirurgischen Zentrum : Histopathologie und Komplikationen.

BACKGROUND: The indication for surgical management and histological diagnosis of melanocytic nevi in children is a major challenge in clinical routine. In consultations with children and parents, the exclusion of malignant findings, on the one hand, and the risk of complications, on the other hand, are important. PATIENTS AND METHODOLOGY: Included were 946 children under the age of 10 years who underwent surgery with a suspected diagnosis of melanocytic nevus at the University Department of Dermatology, Tübingen, Germany, between 2008 and 2018. Dermatohistopathologic findings and postoperative complications were recorded. RESULTS: A clinical diagnosis of melanocytic nevus was histologically confirmed in 93.2% (882/946) of cases, whereby there were 41 Spitz nevi and 18 pigmented spindle cell tumors. Melanoma was diagnosed in 2 of the children (0.2%). In another 6.6%, non-melanocytic findings (e.g., nevus sebaceous, epidermal nevi) were diagnosed. The complication rate was low at 3%. The most common complication was the occurrence of postoperative wound infection in 1.7%. CONCLUSION: It is possible to take a biopsy or surgically remove congenital nevi of different sizes even in infants. Serial excision of congenital nevi is an important tool for this purpose. In the investigated cohort, the complication rate was low. Histological confirmation is essential in case of clinically suspicious or atypical findings.

Perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis in skin surgery - Position paper of the Antibiotic Stewardship working group of the German Society for Dermatologic Surgery (DGDC), Part 1: Procedure- and patient-related risk factors.

The aim of perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis (PAP) is to prevent the occurrence of surgical site infections (SSIs) or other infectious complications (especially bacterial endocarditis or septic arthritis). PAP is effective in surgeries where overall infection rates are high even without considering patient-related risk factors (such as orthopedic surgery or fracture repair). Surgery on airways, gastrointestinal, genital, or urinary tract is also considered to be associated with a risk of infection and may require PAP. Overall, SSIs in skin surgery are relatively rare and vary between 1% and 11% depending on the localization, complexity of the wound closure and patient cohort. Therefore, the general surgical recommendations regarding PAP only partially reflect the needs of dermatologic surgery. In contrast to the USA, where recommendations on the use of PAP in skin surgery already exist, there are currently no guidelines for the use of PAP specifically designed for dermatologic surgery in Germany. In the absence of an evidence-based recommendation, the use of PAP is guided by the experience of the surgeons and leads to a heterogeneous use of antimicrobial substances. In this work, we summarize the current scientific literature on the use of PAP and make a recommendation depending on procedure- and patient-related risk factors.

Tumescent local anaesthesia for the surgical therapy of congenital nevi in the first year of life.

BACKGROUND: The indication for surgical treatment of congenital nevi must be made after individual consideration of the expected benefit and risk and requires careful information of the parents as well as interdisciplinary psychological support. In addition to suspected malignancy, a relevant indication is the risk of stigmatization depending on the size and localization of the nevus. Objective was to show which size reduction of the congenital nevus can be achieved by surgical therapy under tumescent local anaesthesia (TLA) in infancy and how often complications of anaesthesia or surgery occur. METHODS: All infants up to 12 months of age who underwent surgery for a congenital nevus under TLA at the University Dermatological Clinic Tuebingen between January 2015 and December 2021 were included; surgeries were performed using serial excisions (powerstretching technique), whereby the incisions were made inside the nevus and mobilization was strictly limited to the skin side without nevus. RESULTS: Overall, a cumulative total area of 38.65 cm2 could be removed on average within the first year of life (trunk: 67 cm2 , head: 21.2 cm2 , legs: 21.6 cm2 , arms: 13.2 cm2 ). A cumulative maximum area reduction of 406.9 cm2 could be achieved. We evaluated 363 surgical sites (123 children) on all body regions. The median age of the children at the first surgery was 3.5 months (0.46-10.7 months). Complications occurred in 2.3% (seven procedures). All these complications were reversible in the course of the operation and did not lead to a prolonged hospital stay. No anaesthesia-related complications occurred. CONCLUSION: We were able to show that a reduction of large areas of congenital nevi is possible in the first year of life with the combination of serial excisions using powerstretching technique, TLA, and intracutaneous butterfly sutures.