Non-melanoma skin cancer activity during the COVID-19 pandemic- A single UK tertiary centre experience.

The pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus, also known as COVID-19, has generated shockwaves in medical and surgical practice. It has necessitated re-deployment of staff and resources to cater for the unpredictable increase in footfall and demand on healthcare systems. This study aimed to investigate how the restructuring of our service altered the triage and management of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) during the pandemic's first wave rise and peak. We retrospectively analysed all patients who underwent a skin excision under local anaesthetic which revealed the presence of a basal cell carcinoma (BCC) or squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) on histopathological analysis between 1st February 2020 - 31st May 2020 compared with the same period in 2019. There was a 158% increase in patients with excision of lesions confirmed on histopathological analysis as a NMSC during the COVID-19 period (168 vs. 65). In 2020, more excisions were performed by consultants (42.9% v 21.5%, p = 0.002) with a lower proportion of excisions with a close margin (27.7% v 17.8%, p = 0.096) and an involved margin (3.1% v 1.8%, p = 0.62). Five of these patients had their further management altered due to service constraints at this time The resource constraints secondary to the pandemic have yielded beneficial service adaptations with the incorporation of a more efficient model for the NMSC service. The sustainability of this model and its impact on training will require further examination when non-urgent and benign elective workload is slowly reinstated and plastic surgery trainees return to their original posts.

A retrospective analysis of rates of allergic reaction to Patent V blue dye used in sentinel lymph node biopsies for melanoma.

Sentinel lymph node biopsies are a well-established component of the assessment and treatment pathway for patients with cutaneous melanoma in the UK. Commonly utilised techniques involve the use of blue dye which has an established risk of inducing allergic reactions in patients. Such reactions can be life-threatening, and this risk is important to highlight to patients. We conducted a retrospective review of all patients who had undergone this procedure at our melanoma centre in Cambridge, UK. From a group of 715 patients who received blue dye as part of the procedure, six patients suffered an allergic reaction (0.84%) with one of these treated as anaphylaxis. Our incidence of anaphylaxis is almost ten times greater than that reported in the NAP6 report led by the National Institute of Academic Anaesthesia and significantly higher than reported by others. We propose several reasons why our results differ from previous estimates. This study has focused only on patients undergoing a sentinel node procedure for melanoma, others have focused on such procedures performed on patients with breast cancer and some have combined the two. The administration technique, volume and anatomical distribution of disease all differ significantly from melanoma, possibly influencing rates and severity of allergic reactions.

A retrospective study of 694 Basal Cell Carcinoma excisions to quantify deep margin documentation and clearance compared to histological type and surgical margin.

AIMS: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common malignancy worldwide. Although rarely a risk to life, they are potentially destructive and disfiguring. Current treatment guidelines are predominantly based on low-risk BCC and make no recommendations regarding the deep excision margin. We aim to clarify the prevalence of high-risk BCC and appropriate surgical management of the deep margin. METHODS: Data of 556 patients presenting for primary excision of 694 basal cell carcinoma to CUH Plastic Surgery between January 2017 and April 2018 were collected by capture of demographics, surgical notes and histology. We defined the deep surgical margin as numbered anatomical planes, with subcutaneous fat as 0, the first plane under this as 1 and so forth. This allowed comparison of the surgical excision depth, and resulting deep margin histology, across disparate sites. Histological margin clearance was analysed using ordinal regression of age, site, size, histological type and surgical margin. This allowed identification of factors associated with clear, close or incomplete lesion excision. Subgroup analysis was then performed to make recommendations for surgical margins to achieve adequate lesion clearance. RESULTS: Six hundred ninety-four BCCs were identified, 66% were male and the average age of patients was 74 years. Of the BCCs, 49% were nodular but 39% were mixed. An infiltrative component was seen in 24% (mixed infiltrative), but only 4% were purely infiltrative. Mean size, site and patient age were similar across histological types. Deep margin involvement was very rare in nodular or superficial BCCs but occurred in 7% of pure infiltrative and 5% of mixed infiltrative. Peripheral margins were very rarely involved in nodular BCCs but occurred in 9% of mixed infiltrative and 10% infiltrative despite similar surgical margins. A deep margin of the first underlying anatomical plane resulted uninvolved margins in 95% of infiltrative or mixed infiltrative BCC, but subcutaneous fat was sufficient for clearance in 95% of nodular, superficial and mixed non-infiltrative BCC. CONCLUSIONS: High-risk BCC was a common finding in our patient population. This was based not only on site and size but also on histological type. Infiltrative and mixed infiltrative BCCs have a higher risk of close or involved deep margins than other types. We recommend that they are excised to the first underlying anatomical plane. Nodular, superficial and mixed non-infiltrative BCC can usually be safely excised with a cuff of fat alone.

A TRAM flap design refinement for use in delayed breast reconstruction.

Autologous breast reconstruction following mastectomy is commonly achieved using the free Transverse Rectus Abdominis Myocutaneous (TRAM) flap. Since its first description, refinements and modifications have resulted in improved operative techniques and more aesthetically pleasing reconstructions. Pre-operative flap design, however, is a relatively new concept that has not received much attention in the literature. Patients who undergo breast reconstruction may have large, ptotic contralateral breasts. In these patients there is a tendency to raise a large abdominal flap in an attempt to achieve symmetry, or simply a larger breast. This has the potential to lead to tight closure of the abdomen and the risk of subsequent wound problems. Reconstructions that are too small or have inadequate ptosis commit the patient to contralateral breast surgery to achieve symmetry. Pre-operatively designing the flap, using a template created from the opposite breast, can help achieve a good match, often reducing the need for contralateral breast surgery. Even when contralateral breast reduction surgery is planned in advance, many of these patients still require, and prefer, a large reconstruction in order to achieve a well-proportioned result. We present a design template that addresses these particular issues and in the senior author's hands has proved to be a very effective technique. Our technique allows raising an abdominal flap of less vertical height than traditionally used (thus reducing the risk of tight abdominal closure) and incorporates an inverted V-shaped flap of skin from the inferior mastectomy skin flap into the reconstruction. This allows more flap tissue to be available to fill the upper poles of the reconstructed breast and at the same time produces good ptosis.