Hi Vivboy, I have just been through similar but mine was on lower eyelid so slightly more complex with removal.
At my first appointment they took lots of photos but I was referred straight to oncology rather than the usual path of dermatology because I have a tumour in the optic nerve on the same side as the carcinoma. I also had a CT scan the same day to check for infiltration, apparently eyelid ones can affect the eyeball and beyond. I also had blood tests done.
I would suspect at a dermatology appointment they will also take lots of pictures and perhamps look at it with a dermascope which is like a powerful magnifying lens. They will probably book you in for a biopsy to confirm diagnosis although i was told at my initial appointment 99% sure it was a malignant bcc because I had lost all my lower lid eye lashes and how it looked under the lens. Depending on if your dermatologist has access, MOHs is the procedure they like to use for biopsy but apparently very expensive and not all hospitals have access to the facility. Mine did but they decided to do exitional biopsy and reconstruction at the same time. surgeon called last week to confirm it was a bcc now just sitting here waiting for the oncologist to call so we can talk about subtypes etc. I was told by my surgeon that my GP should refer me to dermatology to check for other lesions but I am hoping your dermatologist will check out your skin.
I am happy to answer any questions you might have. Cheek and face are quite common places to get skin lesions because of sun exposure.
Just thinking but obviously don't know how your appointment will work, they might give you a little local anaesthetic and take a small biopsy while at your initial appointment but as I said it will depend on how they process the appointments.
I was (eventually, 3 trips and a year at least since my first request for a referral from the GP) referred to Demroatology for a new black freckle on my cheek. I had more pictures taken and they looked at it in the microscope etc at the appointment. They told me for various reasons (darker than all my others and new are the only two I can remember) that they'd like to take a biopsy and got a 2 week referral for that. They did check if the team were doing facial excisions that day and would have done it then if they were.
That was about 5 weeks ago, I had an excision under local anaesthetic and was in and out fo the hospital in about 40 minutes. Scar is healing well and no pain during or afterwards.
I got a letter this morning to come in at the beginning of October for the results which I think is ominous but at least I'll finally know something and can't fault the service from Dermatology so far.
Good luck with yours and I hope that's helped expectations.
Please don't think the appointment letter is ominous. Some consultants prefer to give results face to face, whether good or bad. Even if it's bad news they have hopefully caught it early so, with a further surgical excision, you will be fine. Good luck and please let us know how you get on.
The dermatologist will examine the lesion and if they think it needs removing they will arrange for it to be done as a day patient at a later date. Sometimes, if time and facilities allow, they do the removal at the first appointment but this only happens in a small number of cases. When it is removed, suspected basal cell carcinomas are either removed by excision surgery (as mentioned already) or by MOHS which involves shaving off the layers of the lesion one at a time. They check the layers under a microscope and once a layer shows no cancer cells, they are happy they've removed it all. MOHS is less invasive and heals better but can take a few hours due to histology checking each layer.
Don't worry if you are waiting weeks for the appointment. Suspected basal cell cases are waiting quite a while due to Covid delays.
