Micrographic surgery for the microscopically controlled excision of eyelid cancers.

Because it allows for the total microscopic control of excision, micrographic surgery is a solution to the problem of determining the exact extent of cancers of the eyelids. The control of excision is achieved by removing successive layers of the affected tissues and microscopically examining the entire undersurface of each layer by the systematic use of frozen sections. The reliability of the method is attested by the five-year cure rates of 99% in 1,773 cases of basal cell carcinoma and of 98.1% in 213 cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the eyelids. Also important is the minimal removal of uninvaded tissue that is feasible because of the precise localization and selective removal of the clinically unpredictable cancerous outgrowths. This saving of normal tissue permits some innovative techniques of wound management.