Carcinoma of the penis surgery

Editor(s)-in-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [mailto:mgibson@perfuse.org] Phone:617-632-7753; Joel Gelman, M.D. [mailto:jgelman@uci.edu], Director of the Center for Reconstructive Urology and Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Urology at the University of   California,Irvine

Overview
There are several treatment options for penile cancer, depending on staging. They include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and biological therapy.

Surgery
The most common treatment is one of four types of surgery:


 * Wide local excision - The tumor and some surrounding healthy tissue are removed
 * Microsurgery - Surgery performed with a microscope is used to remove the tumor and as little healthy tissue as possible
 * Laser surgery - laser light is used to burn or cut away cancerous cells
 * Circumcision - cancerous foreskin is removed
 * Amputation (penectomy) - a partial or total removal of the penis, and possibly the associated lymph nodes. This is the most common and effective treatment.