###Human: Can I undergo surgery for Basal Cell Carcinoma under local anesthesia? ###Assistant: Hi,  Welcome to icliniq.com. You should ask your surgeon the reason behind giving general anaesthesia in your case. Basal cell carcinoma is a locally invasive tumour with very rare chances of malignancy. The need for general anesthesia can arise when on clinical examination it was found that the tumour also involves underlying subcutaneous tissue, nerves and surrounding structures. In such cases we cannot rely upon the local anesthesia as we may have to extend the surgery. During surgery we have to remove one extra centimetre of the healthy margin to prevent recurrence of the tumour.  This margin will be sent for histopathological examination later, to determine whether margins are free from tumour. If margins are involved resurgery has to be done. The size of your tumour is 2cm and may be your surgeon on examination found it to be a deep tumour. Hence to prevent resurgery, he might have advised surgery under general anesthesia. As in case of local anesthesia, sometimes it is difficult to extend the surgery especially when underlying nerves are involved. Do not worry about the general anesthesia as there are few anesthetic compounds which do not cause respiratory depression. So, inform your surgeon regarding the previous respiratory depression and get treated accordingly. For further follow up, consult a surgical oncologist online -->