Does experience of the surgeon affect surgical margins in head and neck basal cell carcinoma?

Abstract

Aim: The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of surgical experience in a high volume head and neck surgery department on basal cell carcinoma margin status. Material and methods: A retrospective analysis of 546 patients surgically treated for primary basal cell carcinoma of the head and neck region was carried out. Resections were performed by 4 specialists with equal experience in head and neck surgery and 4 ENT residents at the same level of surgical training. A margin of 3-5 mm was chosen, according to guidelines. Results: The study consisted of 304 males and 242 females, mean age of 69 (range 26-100). Most of the tumors were loca-ted on the nose (165 pts; 30.2%) and auricle (119; 21.7%). The most common histological subtype was nodular (119; 21.7%). Tumor size was up to 20 mm in 394 cases (72%). Positive surgical margins were found in 112 cases (20.5%). There was no difference in terms of positive surgical margins between residents (19/119 cases; 15.9%) and specialists (93/426; 21.8%; p = 0.161). Conclusions: The results of our study have shown that adequate surgical training in a dedicated head and neck surgery de-partment is an efficient factor in obtaining free surgical margins in head and neck basal cell carcinoma.