Skin Cancer and Mohs Surgery
If you have recently been diagnosed with skin cancer, you are not alone. Over one million people are
diagnosed with skin cancer in the U.S. each year,
making it the most common type of cancer.
Fortunately, it is also one of the most treatable forms
of cancer.
Some skin cancers are readily treated with topical
creams, cryotherapy (freezing), electrodesiccation and
curettage (burning and scraping), or simple excision.
This technique is reserved for skin
cancers that are:
- located on cosmetically or functionally critical areas
(especially on the face)
- recurrent after failing previous treatment
- clinically ill-defined or infiltrating
- aggressive, large, or rapidly growing
Mohs surgery was developed by Dr. Frederic Mohs in
the 1930's. During this procedure, the visible skin
cancer is removed and processed in the Mohs
laboratory, examining all of the edges of the specimen
under a microscope. If any skin cancer remains, the
area of remaining cancer is re-excised and, again,
examined under a microscope. This process is
repeated until the entire skin cancer, including any
roots, is completely removed (see diagram). Once the
tumor has been proven to be completely removed,
most wounds are then repaired and sutured.
The Mohs technique offers several advantages
over other treatments:
- provides the highest cure rate of any treatments for
skin cancer-up to 99 percent
- minimizes the removal of normal skin tissue allowing
for potentially smaller scars
- performed under local anesthesia as an office based
procedure
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