Fearing that personal enthusiasm for the application of planing to precancerous skin1 might color my judgment of the results obtained, I sent a questionnaire on the subject to 120 dermatologists who were known to employ planing in their practices. The response was gratifying, 103 replies being received in a very short time. However, it was soon obvious that my enthusiasm was not shared by all. Approximately 55% of the correspondents denied using surgical abrasion as a treatment or prophylaxis for malignant or premalignant cutaneous degeneration. A number seemed to be proud of this fact. The free use of capital letters, underlined words, and exclamation points made it reasonably clear that they viewed this approach with a jaundiced eye.
A few were more explicit. For instance a dermatologist from Toledo, Ohio, remarked, "I believe that there is no place for planing in the