Definition

Curettage is the surgical removal of growths or tissue from the wall of a body cavity or other surface, using a spoon-like instrument with a sharp edge called a curette. Electrosurgery is a procedure that cuts, destroys, or cauterizes tissue using a high-frequency electric current applied locally with a pencil-shaped metal instrument or needle. When the two procedures are combined, the surgery is referred to as curettage and electrosurgery.

Purpose

The general purpose of curettage is to scrape an area free of undesirable tissue. The purposes of electrosurgery are to destroy benign and malignant lesions, control bleeding, and cut or excise tissue.

Specifically, a curettage and electrosurgery procedure is used to treat the following conditions:

benign skin lesions, such as angiomas, nevis, and warts

actinic keratoses (AKs), which are premalignant skin lesions

skin cancers, chiefly basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC)

genital warts that result from human papillomavirus (HPV) infection