Why mohs surgery

This allows the removal of all cancerous cells for the highest cure rate while sparing healthy tissue and leaving the smallest possible scar. It began as a technique called chemosurgery , developed by Frederic E.

Mohs, MD, in the late s, but was not widely known. Mohs, and recognized that it had great potential for the field of dermatology. He brought the technique to NYU, where he established the first fellowship training program to teach dermatologists this skin cancer surgery.

Robins helped advance the procedure into what is now called Mohs surgery and went on to teach and promote it around the world.

Mohs surgery is performed by doctors who are specially trained to fulfill three roles:. The procedure is done in stages, all in one visit, while the patient waits between each stage. After removing a layer of tissue, the surgeon examines it under a microscope in an on-site lab. If any cancer cells remain, the surgeon knows the exact area where they are and removes another layer of tissue from that precise location, while sparing as much healthy tissue as possible.

The doctor repeats this process until no cancer cells remain. Depending on the location of your skin cancer, you may be able to wear your street clothes, or you may need to put on a hospital gown. The Mohs surgeon examines the spot where you had your biopsy and may mark it with a pen for reference.

The doctor positions you for best access, which may mean sitting up or lying down. A surgical drape is placed over the area. Mohs surgery is done on an outpatient basis in an operating room or procedure room that has a nearby laboratory that allows the surgeon to examine the tissue after it's removed.

In most cases, the procedure lasts a few hours. But since it can be difficult to tell how extensive a skin tumor is just by looking at its surface, doctors often advise reserving the whole day for the procedure.

You likely won't have to change into a surgical gown unless the location of the tumor requires it. To prepare you for surgery, your surgeon or a nurse cleanses the area to be operated on, outlines it with a special pen and injects the area with a local anesthetic. The anesthetic numbs the skin, so you won't feel any discomfort during the procedure.

Once the anesthetic has taken effect, your surgeon uses a scalpel to remove the visible portion of the cancer along with a thin, underlying layer of tissue that's slightly larger than the visible tumor. A temporary bandage is placed on your incision. This takes only a few minutes. The surgeon then takes this tissue to the laboratory for analysis.

This portion of the procedure typically takes the longest amount of time. Expect to wait about an hour or so in a waiting room for the surgeon to return. It may help to bring a book or magazine to pass the time.

You'll be able to use the restroom or have a snack, if you need to, but you won't be able to leave the surgeon's office until the procedure is complete. While you're waiting, the surgeon or technician cuts the tissue sample into sections and examines them with a microscope. Your surgeon takes great care to keep track of the exact spot where each piece of tissue was removed by making a map.

That way, if a small area of cancer is found in one piece of tissue, the surgeon knows precisely where to continue with the surgery. If cancer remains, your Mohs surgery will continue.

Mohs, the surgeon who developed the technique, and is also known as Mohs micrographic surgery. Since its development, Mohs surgery has been refined into the most precise and advanced treatment for skin cancer, yielding success rates up to 99 percent.

Mohs surgery is so effective because percent of the surgical margins are evaluated, compared with less than 5 percent by traditional techniques. During this procedure, the surgeon removes thin layers of skin one layer at a time and examines each layer under a microscope to determine if any cancer remains. This procedure continues until the tissue is cancer-free.

A fellowship-trained Mohs surgeon is specially educated in the reading of these slides and can map microscopic findings to the surgical site. The goal of this treatment is to minimize the chance of the cancer growing back, preserve as much healthy skin as possible and maximize the functional and cosmetic outcome. Mohs surgery is performed under local anesthesia on an outpatient basis, and the entire procedure usually lasts several hours.

Depending on the extent of the cancer, reconstructive surgery may be necessary and can often be performed on the same day by your Mohs surgeon. Mohs surgery is the standard of care for early stage basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck, as well as other rare skin cancers. Limit characters or approximately words.

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