What Is Mohs?
Mohs micrographic surgery is considered the gold-standard to treat skin cancers of the face, head, neck and other special anatomical sites along with large or aggressive skin cancers in other parts of the body.
Mohs surgery allows for the highest cure rate and smallest wound possible among all other standard treatment options and minimizes the risk of the skin cancer returning.
Mohs Surgery: The Most Effective Treatment for Skin Cancer
What Is Mohs Surgery?
What is it like to have Mohs surgery?
If you have Mohs surgery, you’ll see a doctor who is a trained Mohs surgeon. Most Mohs surgeons are dermatologists who have completed extensive training in Mohs surgery.
During Mohs surgery, most patients remain awake and alert. This means Mohs can safely be performed in a medical office or surgical suite with only local anesthesia.
On the day of the surgery, your surgeon will first examine the area to be treated. You’ll then be prepped for surgery. This includes giving you an injection of anesthetic. This injection only numbs the area that will be operated on, so you’ll be awake during the surgery.
Once the anesthetic takes effect, the surgery can begin. The surgeon starts by first cutting out the visible skin cancer. Next, the surgeon removes a thin layer of surrounding skin. You’re then bandaged so that you can wait comfortably.
While you wait, the Mohs surgeon looks at the removed skin under a microscope. The surgeon is looking for cancer cells. If cancer cells are found, you’ll need another layer of skin removed. This process of removing a thin layer of skin and looking at it under a microscope continues until the surgeon no longer sees cancer cells.
Once cancer cells are no longer seen, your surgeon will decide how to address the wound that remains after the skin cancer removal. Some wounds heal nicely without sutures. Others need sutures to minimize the scar and help the area heal. Some patients require a skin flap or a skin graft or other types of surgery, most of which are done at the same visit. However, in some circumstances, the reconstruction is coordinated with other specialists.
