Skin cancer. How do you know if you have it? Ever wonder about that spot on your foot? Is it new? Has it changed? Does it bleed? Is it darker then it was in the past?
Growths (lesions) or discolorations of the skin occur all over the body, including the feet. So, it is not surprising when your podiatrist requests that you should have a biopsy to further determine the exact nature of the lesion on your foot. Often, more serious life-threatening skin conditions that appear on the feet are assumed to be warts, calluses or blisters. Unless these skin lesions are biopsied and sent to a skin pathologist for examination under a microscope, there is a good chance that the true diagnosis will be missed. The biopsy will determine the exact nature and true diagnosis of the skin problem, and will find if the lesion is malignant or benign.
There are several types of skin biopsies that can be performed by your podiatrist in the office. They are called: Punch, Shave and Excisional biopsies. The method performed depends on the location of the problem area and the type of skin lesion that is being investigated. Most of the time, the biopsy is done to remove a small portion of the skin in order to send a specimen to the lab for special staining and subsequent examination under the microscope.
Things to expect when you have a skin biopsy:
Most skin biopsies are performed in the office. After the injection of local anesthetic, the procedure itself should not be painful. Once the area is numbed by the anesthesia the skin is cleansed to avoid infection. Next, the doctor will use a surgical instrument to remove all or part of the skin lesion. A blade is used for Shave or Excisional biopsies and a cylindrical cookie-cutter type of instrument is used for the Punch biopsy. After the skin sample is taken, an anti-bleeding solution is applied. In rare occasions, one or two stitches may be needed to close the wound. The doctor then will apply a bandage over the wound.
The bandage is left in place until the next day when routine wound care can be started at home. There is very little post-procedure pain from these biopsies and patients may have to take Tylenol when the anesthesia wears off.
Now it is about two weeks since you had the biopsy and it is time to return to the doctor's office for a wound check and, most importantly, find out the result of your biopsy. Most often, the final diagnosis from the biopsy taken in the office will take around seven to ten days to get back to the doctor. The doctor will go over your results from the report that he received from the lab and review the treatment for your condition. I suggest that all patients take a copy of the lab report for their personal records. Now you have your answer, hope the news was good.
Other reasons for having a biopsy:
Have you had redness and itching on your feet? Do you have coin size patches on your feet? Do you have skin lesions with small dark spots? Have you used over the counter fungal creams and not seen improvement? Do you have an area on your foot that is drier, scalier, thicker or darker than your normal skin?
* To determine the cause of the skin problem. Biopsy can let the doctor know if the skin problem is being caused by an infection, such as fungus, verses an inflammatory condition like dermatitis. Also referring to the case above, to determine if the condition is a cancerous verses a benign growth.
* To accurately form the best course of treatment for the skin condition. If the result of the test shows there are no fungal elements, then anti-fungal agents would be useless in treating this condition. Also, if the result shows that the skin problem is from a fungus, using anti-bacterial such as polysorin or anti-inflammatory agents like steroid creams would be useless The result of the study may also suggest that the entire lesion be removed because this condition may have a chance of turning into a cancerous condition in the future.
* Biopsies can determine if the hard strange skin on your foot is a callus or a plantar wart. Knowing this can help appropriately treat the condition.
Author Resource:-
Bruce Lashley, DPM Dr. Lashley is a podiatrist practicing in midtown Manhattan for the past 27 years. He specializes in the conservative and surgical management of the foot. He has been a participating sports enthusiast his entire life. As a health care provider Dr. Lashley wants to do all he can for his patients to keep them in the game. For more information on Dr. Lashley visit his web site. http://www.footdoctornyc.com/
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