Dorothy FarrarExcision
Excision is the surgical removal of tissue from the body. The term also stands for a DNA repair process that the body carries out independently.
What is an excision?
Surgical excision is the removal of tissue, usually through an incision made with a scalpel. It is therefore a collective and umbrella term that includes other types of surgical incisions. It is derived from the Latin term excidere, which unspecifically means to cut out.
The aim of an excision is the partial or complete removal of tissue structures or even entire organs. Excisions are usually performed with a scalpel and can be supported by imaging methods or camera technology in parts of the body that are difficult to see.
They are already used for minor interventions, such as removing necrotic tissue from wounds. Excisions are also often used in tumor therapy to remove tumors and affected tissue. Excision is usually performed under general anesthesia.
application and function
Excision is used when there is no medical option for the patient or when the patient would be at great risk without tissue removal. Diseased tissue, or tissue that could become diseased, can be removed by excision, by which time the disease can be largely cured.
Infected or necrotic wounds, conspicuous or unaesthetic skin areas (birthmarks, pigment spots , …), but also the removal of parts of internal organs, for example in the case of cancer or other destructive diseases, can be treated surgically with the help of excision. It is used, for example, in appendectomy for appendicitis as well as in tumor resection in cancer treatment or in plastic surgery.
An excision places a great strain on the patient’s circulatory system and should therefore always be weighed against drug treatment. Therefore, it is only performed when no less invasive route than excision would result in a better prognosis for the patient.
methods and procedures
Excisions can be divided into many different methods. There are several different techniques for most tissues, organs and indications. Wound excisions, for example, are a special form in which necrotic or infected tissue is removed or the edges of the wound can be renewed in order to be able to control healing.
In modern medicine, excisions on internal organs are carried out in such a way that the incision can remain small and the surgeon can see what he is cutting with the help of imaging processes or cameras. Thus, many techniques of excision at the same time as making the incision are related to the idea of scar formation and subsequent healing.
The modern methods of excision in particular represent a major advance in medicine, since surgery used to place much less value on well-healing and barely visible incisions.
What does the patient have to consider?
An excision is a medium-sized to large operation and poses a risk to the patient, depending on the body part affected. In addition to the usual surgical risks, the risk of bleeding can be higher than with less invasive surgical procedures, since the incision is large and blood vessels can be affected .
In order to prepare for the operation without errors, the patient is usually admitted to the hospital a few days before an excision. It is essential to remain sober before the operation – the nursing staff will inform the patient accordingly.
Depending on the severity of the excision, a lot has to be considered during follow-up care, exact details depend on the type of excision. In the first few days after larger excisions, the patient is often treated with wound drains that drain the wound fluid.
Furthermore, differences between the healing of external and internal scars must be considered: with some excisions, the external scar may have healed well, but the internal scar requires months of rest for the patient.
process and implementation
The excision itself can take minutes or hours. The duration of such an intervention depends on the complexity and extent of the operation. If an excision is necessary, the patient is informed in the preliminary talk about the risks, preparation, aftercare and effects of the operation. His medical history is queried and his medical records are looked through to rule out potential risks.
In the case of difficult excisions, preliminary examinations are added to help the surgeon find a safe route to the site to be excised. Organs and blood vessels that lie between the affected organ and the skin pose a significant risk in the case of excision. Such preliminary examinations may require imaging procedures as well as biopsies .
Once access and individual risk factors have been clarified, the patient is given local, but usually full anesthesia and the surgeon gains access to the affected area according to the operation plan. After the excision, wounds are sewn up and the patient is observed in the hospital for a few days or weeks, depending on the severity.
Who bears the costs?
Excisions are covered by health insurance in almost all cases because they are part of treatment plans. Exceptions exist in the case of plastic operations, provided they do not treat the consequences of an accident, or in the case of voluntary interventions without a direct medical indication. Precautionary removal of moles without the dermatologist suspecting skin cancer would be a personal contribution.
Risks, dangers and complications
In addition to the normal surgical risks, excisions involve very individual risks depending on the organ or tissue structure. An excision on the skin surface is relatively low-risk, excisions on internal organs involve the risk of damaging blood vessels or other organs. In addition, the healing of external and internal scars can be complicated by secondary bleeding, suture tears and later scar hernias.
However, outdated methods of excision from earlier decades lead to more difficulties than the modern methods. Larger excisions can still lead to circulatory problems for some time after the operation, which is why the patient often has to lie down for the most part for days after the operation.
Hello and welcome to my Health Guide & Encyclopedia! My name is Dorothy Farrar, and I'm the founder and main author of this platform.
My passion for health and wellness started at a young age when I became interested in the connection between the food we eat and the way we feel. This fascination led me to study nutrition and dietetics in college, where I learned about the importance of a balanced diet and the impact of various nutrients on the body.