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Mohs surgery has been recognized as the most curative procedure for removing non-melanoma skin cancers since the 1980s. Also called Mohs micrographic surgery, the procedure was developed by a general surgeon in Wisconsin, Dr. Frederick Mohs. The goal of the Mohs procedure is to completely eradicate and remove non-melanoma skin cancers. Ninety percent of Mohs surgery is performed on the face, mainly the nose and ears. It minimizes the amount of the surrounding healthy skin and tissue that is removed during the process.
What to Expect from Mohs Surgery?
In the operating room, the area where the skin cancer is located is numbed with a local anesthetic. The tumor is curetted and the tissue is cut out around the tumor. This tissue sample is moved to our in-house laboratory to be processed. It only takes about 5-10 minutes to remove a thin layer of tissue. The wound will be bandaged, and you are then directed to the waiting room.
It takes 1 to 1.5 hours to process the sample. After processing, the sample will be examined under a microscope to check for any remaining cancerous tissue. If some cancerous cells remain, then the process continues and more tissue is removed. This process will continue until the tissue is clear upon microscopic examination. Once it is clear, the wound is sutured and bandaged. The average time spent at our office for Mohs patients is 2-6 hours.
Recovery from Mohs Surgery
After the Mohs surgery, you should take it easy for 1-2 days and refrain from exercise or any strenuous physical activity. This will help control swelling, bleeding, and pain. Most patients resume their normal routine after a day. The dressing can be removed two days after the surgery. It is important to clean the wound with soap and water, then apply Vaseline and re-bandage the area. The sutures will need to be removed in a week. There is minimal scarring with Mohs surgery since it only removes the necessary tissue.
What Makes Mohs Surgery so Effective?
Traditional surgical excisions make vertical slices, almost like cutting a loaf of bread. By using this treatment for skin cancer, the pathologist can only sample the outer margins of the tissue. So only about 1% of the specimen is being examined. Mohs surgery is much more precise with 100% of the specimen examined. Therefore, Mohs surgery results in higher skin cancer cure rates than other methods of surgery.
Mohs Surgery at Trillium Creek
The Mohs Skin Cancer Center offers state-of-the-art treatment for two of the most common forms of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Mohs micrographic surgery performed by the Trillium Creek staff has been found to be highly curative — even if the skin cancer has been previously treated.