Doctors can now remove the tumours under local anaesthetic

A new operating theatre at Kent and Canterbury Hospital allows doctors to remove growths under local anaesthetic and get them tested within an hour.

Patients can then be retreated the same day if the results show that any part of the tumour still remains.

Consultant Ashley Cooper said patients previously had to face a worrying wait for their results.

To have it done, cut away and closed up in the same day, I thought was great. It saved future visits. Frank Richards

He added: "The beauty of this is that we are using frozen histology which means that we get the results very, very quickly.

"Conventionally a patient might have to wait for 10 days to two weeks to find out whether the tumour had been properly removed but we can tell within half an hour to 40 minutes whether we need to take any more or whether it's all clear.

"It is obviously very reassuring for patients," he said.

Frank Richards, from Folkestone, had his tumour frozen and then sliced up using the new procedure last week.

He said: "To have it done, cut away and closed up in the same day, I thought was great. It saved future visits to get it done."

More than 200 people in east Kent are diagnosed with skin cancer each month.