Surgical excision is a common outpatient procedure used to treat skin cancers—including melanoma, and basal and squamous cell carcinomas—cysts, and other benign growths. The excision of skin cancer involves numbing the skin with a local anesthetic and cutting the cancerous area out. The skin is then stitched back together, leaving only a small scar. The wound usually heals within a week or two. As with the excision of skin cancer, the process of removing a cyst or other benign growth is relatively simple.