Complications in dermatologic surgery: A case-control study exploring factors associated with postsurgical infection and wound dehiscence in a large national group practice

Abstract

To the Editor: Dermatologic surgery is generally considered safe with estimated complication rates of <2%. 1 O'Neill J.L. Lee Y.S. Solomon J.A. et al. Quantifying and characterizing adverse events in dermatologic surgery. Dermatol Surg. 2013; 39: 872-878https://doi.org/10.1111/dsu.12165 Crossref PubMed Scopus (18) Google Scholar , 2 Strickler A.G. Shah P. Bajaj S. et al. Preventing and managing complications in dermatologic surgery: procedural and postsurgical concerns. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2021; 84: 895-903 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (3) Google Scholar , 3 Cook J.L. Perone J.B. A prospective evaluation of the incidence of complications associated with mohs micrographic surgery. Arch Dermatol. 2003; 139: 143-152 Crossref PubMed Scopus (148) Google Scholar However, evaluation of the factors that contribute to complications gains merit in the context of the vast numbers of dermatologic procedures performed annually. This retrospective case-control study explores host and procedural variables associated with surgical wound dehiscence (SWD) and infection following dermatologic surgery, factors which are inadequately characterized or limited by small sample sizes in the current dermatology literature. 1 O'Neill J.L. Lee Y.S. Solomon J.A. et al. Quantifying and characterizing adverse events in dermatologic surgery. Dermatol Surg. 2013; 39: 872-878https://doi.org/10.1111/dsu.12165 Crossref PubMed Scopus (18) Google Scholar , 2 Strickler A.G. Shah P. Bajaj S. et al. Preventing and managing complications in dermatologic surgery: procedural and postsurgical concerns. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2021; 84: 895-903 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (3) Google Scholar , 3 Cook J.L. Perone J.B. A prospective evaluation of the incidence of complications associated with mohs micrographic surgery. Arch Dermatol. 2003; 139: 143-152 Crossref PubMed Scopus (148) Google Scholar , 4 Delpachitra M. Heal C. Banks J. Charles D. Sriharan S. Buttner P. Risk factors for surgical site infection after minor dermatologic surgery. Adv Skin Wound Care. 2021; 34: 43-48 Crossref Scopus (3) Google Scholar , 5 Balakirski G. Kotliar K. Pauly K.J. et al. Surgical site infections after dermatologic surgery in immunocompromised patients: a single-center experience. Dermatol Surg. 2018; 44: 1525-1536 Crossref Scopus (17) Google Scholar