Cancer and Healthy

Mohs Micrographic Surgery is a special technique used by specially trained dermatologists and surgeons developed in the 1930s and named for Dr. Frederic Mohs. The technique is used to remove skin cancers in areas in which tissue preservation is needed, especially the face. The procedure is performed using local anesthesia. The surgeon removes the skin cancer and immediately looks at the specimen under a microscope to determine if all of the tumor has been removed. If tumor is at the edges of the specimen, additional tissue removal is undertaken in a sequential fashion until there is no tumor left. Cure rates for this type of removal in certain places are even better than conventional surgery.

What is the advantage to Mohs?

Because of the technique and the immediate analysis, the technique allows for removal of as little tissue as possible. In conventional surgical techniques, a certain amount of normal tissue is removed as a 'margin.' Because the Mohs surgeon has the ability to rapidly determine if additional tissue needs to be removed, a surgical margin is not necessary. In areas such as the nose, eyelids, and ears, this is extremely important to maintain as much of the normal shape as possible?

What tumors are treated by Mohs surgery?

Generally skin cancers are treated with Mohs surgery. The most common skin cancers, basal cell cancer and squamous cell cancer, are easily treated with Mohs surgery. Melanoma often requires large margins and sometimes additional lymph node analysis and is not usually treated with Mohs surgery. Other forms of skin cancer can be treated with Mohs surgery as well.

What happens after the tumor is removed?

After tumor removal, the Mohs surgeon may close the defect directly. If the defect is large, or in a cosmetically sensitive area, he may refer the patient to a facial plastic or general plastic surgeon for repair of the defect. A qualified reconstructive surgeon can repair Mohs defects fairly easily, most without general anesthesia.