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Houston Area Skin Cancer Treatment
Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer affecting Americans. About a million cases of skin cancer occur in the United States annually, with more than 80% of these occurring in the head and neck region. Sun exposure or damage is a common cause of skin cancer. Unfortunately, the sun cannot be avoided in the Houston, Texas area and therefore skin cancer is extremely prevalent.
Meet Dr. Athré
A board-certified surgeon, Dr. Athré is dedicated to providing high quality cosmetic care to enhance your appearance and your outlook.
Prevention of Skin Cancer
Protection from sun exposure is the single most important factor in preventing skin cancers. Some patients are genetically more likely to get skin cancer, and sun avoidance is even more important in those individuals. Wearing a hat, avoiding tanning salons, and preventing prolonged exposure to the sun can all help decrease the overall risk of skin cancer. However, some amount of sun exposure in unavoidable as in driving and participating in outdoor activities. Therefore, it is important for patients of all ages and skin types to use a medical grade sun block daily to minimize the amount of UV damage. Since prevention is key, a regimen of daily sunblock use is important to stress to children as well because certain types of skin cancer like melanoma, are more common in patients with increased sun exposure or bad sunburns in childhood.
The Sun and Aging
Besides causing skin cancer, UV rays and sun exposure also cause premature aging. Breakdown of collagen and elastin is a normal part of the aging process. However, increased sun exposure can increase the rate of collagen and elastin breakdown leading to premature aging. Some of the signs of sun-caused skin damage, or photoaging, include irregular skin texture, fine and coarse wrinkles, loss of skin volume and thickness, age spots, and increased pore size. These symptoms can be prevented with use of a medical grade sunblock to block UV rays. If some photoaging has already occurred, it can be reversed with a medical grade skin regimen, lasers, and peels.
Get more information about Skin Rx™, Athré Surgical Associates' exclusive line of medical grade sunblock and skin care treatments.
Excising and Reconstructing Skin Cancer
Any lesion on the body that is crusting, fails to heal, bleeding, changing in size or pigmentation should be biopsied. A biopsy is a simple clinic procedure that removes a small portion of the lesion to obtain a diagnosis. There are several types of skin cancer and benign lesions that can look similar.
If you have a lesion that you think may need to be biopsied, please call 281-557-3223 for an appointment or ask your primary doctor to refer you to Athré Surgical Associates.
Once a diagnosis has been reached, a treatment plan will be discussed with the patient. Sometimes the patient may be referred to a dermatologist to undergo a special type of resection called Moh's Surgery.
Following any type of resection, Athré Surgical Associates can reconstruct the affected area such that little or no scar is visible. A consultation for reconstruction will include a full analysis of the defect and discussion of all possible options to maximize function and cosmetic outcome.
At Athré Surgical Associates, we understand that such events are stressful and nerve wracking, and we aim to provide a relaxing environment where we can reconstruct most defects on the same day as resection with little to no down time, and maximize the aesthetic outcome.
Dr. Athré has extensive experience in reconstructing all sizes and shapes of facial and head/neck defects after skin cancer resection. Contact us online to learn more about skin cancer treatment from Dr. Raghu Athré, or schedule your appointment by calling 281-557-3223.
