Last updated: 02/17/2009

In the case of AK, the procedure is carried out under local anesthesia to reduce discomfort during curettage. First, the surgeon uses a curette to scrape off the undesirable AK cells down to the level of uninvolved tissue. This is followed by electrosurgery...

to widen the area of AK cell destruction and removal, and to cauterize the wound to limit bleeding.

In the treatment of skin cancers, curettage is used to scrape away the tumor cells and then an extra margin of surrounding tissue is destroyed by electrosurgery. These steps may be repeated several times in the same treatment session. Curettage and electrosurgery are considered suitable for small primary lesions on sun-exposed skin. It is less effective in the case of recurrent lesions that have attendant scar tissue. Tumors that have spread into subcutaneous tissues or subcutaneous fat are less likely to be cured when treated with this procedure.

The major techniques that may be involved in the electrosurgery step include electrodesiccation (removal of water), fulguration (production of a spark to destroy tissue), electrocoagulation (forming blood clots to stop bleeding), and electrosection (cutting). Electrosurgery can be used to incise, to shave, and to remove lesions. The correct output power is determined by starting at low power and increasing the power level until the desired result is achieved (destruction, coagulation, or cutting).