What to expect from excisional surgery for melanoma

The area is cleaned and numbed with local anaesthetic unless a wider operation or another anaesthetic plan is needed. The surgeon marks the planned margin, removes the visible lesion with nearby skin, and controls bleeding. Stitches, adhesive strips, or another closure may be used depending on the wound. The removed tissue is examined to confirm the diagnosis and assess whether the edges are clear. Further treatment can depend on that report and the melanoma’s features; [Melanoma](/conditions/melanoma/) information can help you understand the diagnosis.

Before surgery, tell the team about medicines, allergies, bleeding problems, and previous reactions to anaesthetic. Arrange practical help if the site makes movement awkward. Keep the dressing in place for the period advised, wash your hands before wound care, and avoid soaking the area until the clinician says it is ready. Take only recommended pain relief, and protect the healing scar from sun exposure. Attend the wound review or stitch-removal appointment and ask when normal exercise is appropriate. Read more about [Surgical Excision](/treatments/surgical-dermatology/excisional-surgery/).

Contact the surgical team promptly if bleeding does not settle with firm pressure, the wound opens, pain is worsening rather than easing, or redness, warmth, swelling, or drainage spreads around it. Seek urgent help for heavy bleeding, faintness, breathing difficulty, or sudden severe swelling. A new changing spot, persistent lump, or a wound that fails to heal also deserves clinical review rather than self-treatment.

Ask which margin is planned, how the wound will be closed, when the pathology result should be discussed, how the scar may look, and which symptoms require a same-day call.