Electrodesiccation and Curettage vs Surgical Excision

Electrodesiccation and Curettage: A small, low-risk skin cancer is scraped out with a sharp loop, and the base is then burned. It takes one visit and needs no stitches. It leaves a round pale scar, and the edges are never checked under a microscope.

Surgical Excision: The growth is cut out along with a measured border of normal-looking skin, and the wound is stitched closed. The whole piece goes to a laboratory and the result comes back in about a week. The scar is a line, and it is longer than the spot was.

Reviewed by Dr. Schwarz, Board-Certified Dermatologist
Last updated: 10/22/2026

Editorial illustration for Electrodesiccation and Curettage, based on the entry’s treatment or equipment reference.

Editorial illustration for Surgical Excision, based on the entry’s treatment or equipment reference.

Choose if Key differences What is it?What it treats Treatment areas Skin tones How it works Before your treatment Day of treatment After your treatment Risks Cost Questions Related

Choose Electrodesiccation and Curettage if…

Choose for a small, low-risk skin cancer on the body when one quick visit with no stitches matters more than margin checking.

A small, low-risk basal cell cancer
On the trunk or limbs, not the face
You accept a round pale scar

Choose Surgical Excision if…

Choose to remove a skin cancer or suspicious growth completely with lab-checked edges — the scar is a line, longer than the spot.

Melanoma or a suspicious mole
Skin cancer on the trunk or limbs
You want the whole growth checked

Alternatives, not combined

Can you have both?

Both remove skin cancers. ED&C is quicker for small, low-risk cancers; excision gives stitches and a margin check.

Key differences

● Electrodesiccation and Curettage

● Surgical Excision

DowntimeNone → 2+ weeks

2+ weeks

1–2 weeks

PainMinimal → Needs anesthesia or sedation

Mild

Results showImmediately → 3+ months

Immediately

How long it lastsWeeks → Years or permanent

Years or permanent

Visits neededOne → Every few months

One

Cost per visit$ → $$$$$

ReversibleYes, can be undone → No, permanent

No, permanent

What is it?

Electrodesiccation and Curettage

Surgical Excision

What is it?

It combines scraping and heat.

A lesion is scraped with a curette and treated electrically.

It suits superficial lesions.

It can treat carefully selected low-risk skin cancers.

It does not check margins.

It lacks the margin assessment of excision or Mohs surgery.

Not every cancer qualifies.

Type, site, size and depth determine suitability.

It removes a lesion surgically.

A planned incision removes the lesion and a rim of tissue.

It diagnoses or treats.

It provides tissue or removes a known lesion.

Margins depend on the diagnosis.

They should not be chosen from a generic chart.

Mohs is different.

Standard excision and Mohs assess tissue differently.

What it treats

Evidence level

Electrodesiccation and Curettage

Surgical Excision

Strong evidenceMost established uses

Basal Cell Carcinoma

High cure rates for small tumors.

Two growths on the upper back on fair skin. One is a flat light tan patch and the other is a raised mid-brown growth with a rough waxy surface and a sharply defined edge.

Seborrheic Keratosis

Removes growths quickly.

Basal Cell Carcinoma

High cure rates.

AI-generated educational illustration: Crusted red raised lesion on a light-skinned sun-exposed hand.

Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Removes the cancer with margins.

Melanoma

The main treatment.

A smooth, dome-shaped lump about two centimetres across on the upper back on pale skin, with a tiny dark pore at its center and faintly pink skin over it.

Epidermal Inclusion Cyst

Removes the sac.

Moderate evidenceSome supportive research

Squamous Cell Carcinoma

For small, low-risk tumors.

—

Little evidence

—

Acne Scarring

Punch excision is used for small scars instead.

Not effective

Melanoma

Needs excision with margins.

—

Can make it worse

A raised, smooth, firm scar on the upper chest on light skin. It is shiny pink-red and hairless, and its edges spread well past the small mark it grew from.

Keloids

Can trigger new keloids.

Keloids

Keloids often return larger alone.

Treatment areas

The specific lesion, scar or affected patch determines the treatment site; there is no fixed body distribution.

Skin tones

Skin tone

● Electrodesiccation and Curettage

● Surgical Excision

Lighter skin

Some risk

A round pale scar.

Low risk

A fine line scar.

Medium skin

Some risk

Pale scar is more visible.

Low risk

Scar fades over a year.

Deeper skin

Higher risk

Pale or raised scars are more noticeable; discuss excision.

Some risk

Raised or keloid scars possible, especially on chest, back and shoulders.

How it works

Electrodesiccation and Curettage

Surgical Excision

How it works

Curettage & Electrodesiccation mechanism diagram. A curette removes tissue: A clinician scrapes away the selected lesion. Electrical treatment treats the base: Energy dries or coagulates tissue in the treatment bed. The wound heals: The open area repairs with scar tissue; follow-up remains important.

Surgical Excision mechanism diagram. The area is planned: Diagnosis and location guide the removal border and depth. The lesion is cut out: The clinician removes the selected tissue as a specimen. Closure and tissue review follow: The wound heals, while pathology helps guide further care.

Diagram explanation

A curette removes tissue: A clinician scrapes away the selected lesion. Electrical treatment treats the base: Energy dries or coagulates tissue in the treatment bed. The wound heals: The open area repairs with scar tissue; follow-up remains important.

Schematic illustration. Technique and response vary. This explains a mechanism and does not specify treatment settings.

The area is planned: Diagnosis and location guide the removal border and depth. The lesion is cut out: The clinician removes the selected tissue as a specimen. Closure and tissue review follow: The wound heals, while pathology helps guide further care.

Schematic illustration. Technique and response vary. This explains a mechanism and does not specify treatment settings.

Before your treatment

Electrodesiccation and Curettage

Surgical Excision

The week before

Do not stop: Blood thinners: Aspirin, clopidogrel, warfarin, apixaban, rivaroxaban and similar are usually continued — extra oozing is easier to manage than a clot or a stroke.

Ointment and dressings: Buy plain petrolatum ointment and non-stick dressings beforehand, not on the way home.

Supplements and alcohol: Non-essential blood thinners such as fish oil, vitamin E and ginkgo are commonly stopped about a week before, and alcohol the night before.

Smoking and vaping: Stop for a week before and two weeks after if you can.

Day of treatment

Electrodesiccation and Curettage

Surgical Excision

Before you arrive

What to wear and eat: Wear something you do not mind getting blood on.

Eating and clothes: Eat normally and take your usual morning medicines.

Arrival & prep

The lesion is matched against the biopsy report, photographed, and consent signed.

The site is confirmed against the biopsy report and you point to it yourself.

Treatment

The doctor scrapes with the curette, which feels like pressure and tugging, not pain.

The electric probe follows, with a faint buzz and a smell of burning. The pair is repeated two or three times; one lesion takes about 10 to 20 minutes. Nothing should feel sharp once you are numb, so say so if it does.

The surgery: The skin is cleaned and draped.

The surgery: The ellipse is cut out in one piece, bleeding points sealed, and the edges freed so they meet without tension. Closing is in layers — dissolving stitches deep, stitches on the surface. You feel pressure and tugging and hear instruments, but nothing sharp. Most take 20 to 45 minutes, and the site feels tight afterward rather than sore.

Before you leave

A round, shallow, raw crater slightly larger than the growth, under ointment and a dressing.

A dressing, written wound care, a stitch removal appointment, and a plan for how the pathology result reaches you.

After your treatment

Electrodesiccation and Curettage

Surgical Excision

First 24 hours

Day 1 to 7: The wound weeps and the base looks yellow.

Not specified

Days 2–7

Not specified

First week: Keep the dressing dry and in place for 24 to 48 hours, then start daily care — gentle wash, petrolatum, non-stick dressing.

Days 5 to 14: Stitches come out — face at 5 to 7 days, trunk and arms at 10 to 14, legs and back sometimes longer.

Weeks 2–4

Weeks 2 to 6: The crater shrinks and the base turns pink.

From week 2: The scar is hardest, pinkest and most raised at around three to six weeks.

Beyond 1 month

Month 2 to 12: The scar starts pink and firm, then flattens and pales over roughly a year.

Not specified

Time to results

Immediately

Lab result in about a week

How long results last

90–95% cure for suitable cancers

Permanent

Risks

Most of what happens after this procedure is expected rather than a complication
Incomplete removal
A raised or thickened scar
A wound that stalls
Numbness or a patch that stays firm
When to contact your provider

A thick, raised or widening scar
Numbness or a firm cord under the skin
A stitch that surfaces months later
A margin that was not clear
A pucker at one end of the line
When to contact your provider

Cost

Per session

This is the least expensive way to treat a skin cancer surgically.

An excision costs more than a scrape-and-burn and less than Mohs surgery.

Insurance

In the US it is billed as a destruction procedure, priced by lesion size and body site, and generally covered when it treats a diagnosed skin cancer.

In the US the surgical charge is priced by the size of the excision and the body site, with a separate charge for a more complex layered closure.

Questions

Electrodesiccation and Curettage

Surgical Excision

Individual Questions

Does it hurt?

The numbing injection stings for under a minute. After that you feel pressure and tugging, not pain. Afterward the site is sore rather than painful, and acetaminophen is enough.

Why don't they check the edges under a microscope?

There is no intact specimen to check — the tumor is scraped away in fragments and the base burned. The method relies on the operator feeling soft tumor against firm normal tissue, which is reliable for shallow, clearly bordered tumors and unreliable for others.

What will the scar look like?

A round, flat disc, usually slightly wider than the original spot and lighter than the skin around it. Some are a little sunken, some raised. Pink at first, paling over about a year. It is permanent.

How long until it heals?

About 3 to 6 weeks on the face, trunk and arms. On the lower leg it is slower, sometimes two to three months, particularly in older adults or with diabetes or poor circulation.

Can I have this instead of Mohs surgery on my face?

Sometimes, for a small superficial tumor on the cheek or forehead. Generally not for the nose, eyelids, ears, lips or the creases around them, where recurrence is higher and there is less spare skin. Ask why one is recommended over the other for your tumor.

What are the chances it comes back?

For a well-selected, small, low-risk tumor, cure at 5 years is commonly quoted around 95 percent. That falls when the method is used on tumors it was not meant for — aggressive subtypes, recurrent tumors, unclear borders, high-risk facial sites.

Why is the scar so much longer than the spot?

Because a round hole cannot be closed flat. The piece taken out is an ellipse roughly three times as long as it is wide, so the edges meet evenly instead of puckering at each end. A spot the size of a pencil eraser becomes a line an inch or more long. It is geometry, not technique, and no surgeon avoids it.

How long until I get the result?

Usually 3 to 10 days, depending on the laboratory. Ask before you leave how and when you will be told, and call if you have heard nothing after about two weeks.

What happens if the margins are not clear?

A further procedure — a re-excision with a wider border, or a referral for Mohs surgery — usually within a few weeks. It is not a mistake. It is the reason the specimen went to a laboratory in the first place.

When can I exercise again?

About 2 weeks for most sites, longer for the back, shoulder and shin. The visible stitches come out sooner, and the deep stitches are still carrying the tension. Lifting or straining is what stretches or splits a wound.

Should I have Mohs surgery instead?

On the face, particularly the nose, eyelids, ears and lips, or for a tumor that is large, has vague borders, has an aggressive subtype on the biopsy, or has come back before, Mohs is often better. For a small low-risk cancer on the trunk or limbs, an excision achieves the same result in a fraction of the time and cost. Ask which category yours is in.

Will the scar fade?

It flattens and pales substantially over about a year, with most of the change in the first six months. Keeping it out of the sun and using silicone gel or sheeting once it is closed are the two things with reasonable evidence behind them. Scars on the chest, shoulders and upper back stay red and raised longest and are the likeliest to widen.

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