Introduction to Mohs Surgery

What is Mohs Surgery, also called Mohs Micrographic Surgery? Mohs surgery is an advanced technique for removing skin cancers that combines histological analysis under a microscope at real-time with surgical excision. With this technique, the surgeon is able to remove the cancer successfully while preserving the greatest amount of tissue. This method of surgical excision offers the highest cure rate for Basal Cell Carcinomas and Squamous Cell Carcinomas, which are the two most common skin cancers.

In contrast to a traditional surgery for skin cancer, which involves cutting out a large margin around the visible skin cancer, with mohs surgery a small level is taken, and then analyzed under a microscope. The excised skin is marked so that the surgeon knows exactly what location and the placement of the skin if there is still cancer visible on the margins. The surgeon can then remove skin only where the cancer still remains. In this way, the extra visibility provided by the histological analysis allows the surgeon to act with precision and save tissue while ensuring the cancer is removed in its entirety.

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