Skin biopsies and flap/graft repairs

Skin Biopsies are done to diagnose potential skin concerns by taking a small section of your skin and examining it. There are various types of skin biopsies, such as a shave, punch, and incisional biopsy, and the right type will depend on the suspected health risk. Typically, your doctor will recommend that you get a skin biopsy if you notice unusual symptoms like persistent rashes, scaly skin, or irregular moles. While the biopsy is often used to check for cancer, it can also detect other skin conditions like melanoma, eczema, and psoriasis.

Graft Repairs involve taking healthy skin from one area of your body and moving it to a different area, which typically contains a fracture, large wound, or surgically removed skin due to burns and other reasons. These may be performed for cases where you have an infection that caused significant skin loss, skin cancer, pressure ulcers, or cosmetic and reconstructive purposes.

Flap Repairs or skin flap surgeries serve a similar purpose and are done to fill in a wound or lesion from injury or surgery. This procedure is done if the injured or wounded area cannot be treated with a skin graft. As its name suggests, a skin flap surgery uses the skin flaps, which contain skin and tissue, and transplanting this to the area that needs reconstruction.

Both procedures above will require healing time after the surgery, so you will likely have to rest for a few days. Likewise, you must keep the area around your dressing clean, prevent it from getting wet, and avoid touching it. If you experience unusual symptoms like persistent pain, bleeding, or signs of an infection, call your doctor to ask about what to do.