SKIN GROWTHS IN THE AGED - TREATMENT CONSIDERATIONS

Skin disorders are very common among elderly people. All physicians wh o care for this population should possess the ability to recognise com mon benign growths. Primary care physicians should also have the abili ty to recognise premalignant and malignant lesions, so that early diag nosis and treatment is possible.It is puzzling that the organ system m ost amenable to examination is so often overlooked in routine examinat ions. By simply taking the time to perform a skin examination, morbidi ty and mortality can be decreased. Through improvements in pharmacothe rapy, particularly the development of more effective sunscreens, it ma y eventually be possible to markedly reduce the development of many be nign and malignant skin lesions.