Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the incomplete primary resection of non-melanoma skin cancer in a plastic surgery service at a university hospital. Methods: Analytical cross-sectional design, with retrospective data collection, carried out in a university hospital in northeastern Brazil, in January 2021. The study population comprised patients undergoing surgery for excision of lesions suggestive of skin cancer in a Plastic Surgery service from March 2019 to March 2020. A convenience sample of 104 participants was evaluated. Demographic and epidemiological variables were collected. Univariate and bivariate statistics were calculated. Results: The patients had an average age close to 70 years, with 23.1% having multiple injuries. The prevalence of incomplete resection was 29.8%. Higher number of lesions per patient (p=0.009), lesions with a diameter greater than 2 cm (p=0.008), located on the face (p=0.048), in addition to sclerodermiform (p=0.042) and infiltrative (p=0.026) subtypes of basal cell carcinomas were significantly related to incomplete primary resection of non-melanoma skin cancer. Conclusion: The prevalence of incomplete primary resection of non-melanoma skin cancer was high and was related to lesion characteristics.