Wound Healing on the Dorsal Hands: An Intrapatient Comparison of Primary Closure, Purse-String Closure, and Secondary Intention.

Nonmelanoma skin cancers are common on the dorsal hands where reserve tissue is limited. We highlight the case of an elderly man who had 3 nonmelanoma skin cancers on the left hand that were treated on the same day and left similar wounds. The wounds were repaired by primary closure, secondary intention, and purse-string circumferential closure. All wounds healed with excellent and essentially equivalent cosmetic results. For small shallow wounds on the dorsal hands, dermatologic surgeons should have confidence that secondary intention healing likely will lead to acceptable cosmetic and functional results.