Mohs Surgery

What is Mohs surgery?

In the 1930s, Dr. Frederic Mohs, a surgeon in Wisconsin, developed a specialized technique of evaluating skin cancer microscopically during its removal. Today, the Mohs technique has evolved into an efficient and effective skin cancer treatment allowing the physician to remove as little skin as possible with the highest cure rate, all usually done in a single day office visit.

To ensure all cancer is removed, Mohs surgery is performed in stages. During each stage of the procedure, the dermatologic surgeon removes only the tissue involved with cancer. While the patient waits, the specimen is immediately taken to the onsite lab to be examined under a microscope to determine if any of the tumor remains.

If cancer cells remain, the surgeon removes additional skin tissue from the identified area only, preserving as much healthy skin as possible. The process is repeated until the last tissue sample removed is cancer-free.

By examining each specimen’s edges under the microscope, Mohs micrographic surgery offers the assurance that all cancerous cells have been completely removed.

Types of growths treated by Mohs surgery

The most common types of skin cancers treated by Mohs surgery are basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. However, Mohs surgery can achieve high cure rates for many other types of skin cancers also. It is occasionally used in special situations to treat non-cancerous growths as well.

Benefits of Mohs surgery

There are several benefits to choosing Mohs surgery over other types of skin cancer treatments, including: