Category Reference
Skin & Soft Tissue Procedures
5 procedures tested on the ABS Certifying Exam
Skin and soft tissue cases include necrotizing soft tissue infection (early recognition is the most tested concept), melanoma (wide local excision margins, sentinel node indication, immunotherapy era management), Merkel cell carcinoma, sarcoma principles, and pilonidal disease. Necrotizing infection cases are designed to test how quickly you commit to operative debridement.
Wide Local Excision (Melanoma)
Definitive surgical excision of cutaneous melanoma with appropriate margins based on tumor thickness. The examiner expects you to know the margin guidelines derived from prospectiv…
Sarcoma Wide Excision
Surgical resection of soft tissue sarcomas with wide margins, the primary curative treatment. The examiner expects you to know the workup (MRI for local staging, CT chest for lung …
Skin Grafting (STSG & FTSG)
Transfer of skin from a donor site to a wound that cannot be closed primarily. The examiner expects you to differentiate split-thickness (STSG — includes epidermis and partial derm…
Necrotizing Fasciitis Debridement
Emergency surgical debridement of necrotizing soft tissue infection, a life-threatening condition with mortality of 20–40% even with treatment. The examiner expects you to recogniz…
Inguinal Lymph Node Dissection
Surgical removal of inguinal lymph nodes for regional metastatic disease, most commonly for melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma, or vulvar/penile cancer. The dissection encompasses t…
Practice Skin & Soft Tissue cases with an AI examiner
Talk through these procedures out loud, exam style. The AI examiner adapts to your answers and introduces complications.