Dermatologic Surgery
Mohs Micrographic Surgery
MOHS micrographic surgery named after Dr. Frederic E. Mohs is a highly advanced and precise technique for removing skin cancers while leaving the surrounding healthy tissue intact and unharmed.
The procedure involves surgically removing a skin cancer layer by layer and examining the tissue under a microscope for evidence of tumor roots and repeating the process until a cancer free margin is reached. Your fellowship trained dermatologist will serve as a cancer surgeon, identifying and removing your cancer, a pathologist, determining if your margins are cleared and the cancer is cured, as well as a plastic reconstructive surgeon, to ensure the best cosmetic result.
Mohs micrographic surgery offers the highest potential cure rate, up to 99%. Mohs surgery is used primarily for basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, but can also be used for less common tumors affecting the skin and even for melanomas in certain circumstances. Indications include:
Skin cancers located in cosmetically sensitive and functionally important locations on the face, scalp, ears, and hands.
Recurrent skin cancers
Large skin cancers
Skin cancers where the edges are not clearly defined
Skin cancers with aggressive pathology which makes them grow fast and have a higher chance to spread.
Radiation induced skin cancers or cancers in areas of scar tissue
Cancer in young patients (<40 years old)
Cancers in immunocompromised individuals or those with proven difficulty with skin cancers.
What Makes Mohs Surgery So Effective
