Mohs Micrographic Surgery

What is Mohs micrographic surgery?

Dr. Frederick Mohs at the University of Wisconsin developed Mohs micrographic surgery. It is a state-of-the-art, extremely accurate method of removing skin cancer.

How effective is Mohs surgery?

Mohs surgery is the most advanced, precise method of removing skin cancer. It has a cure rate of above 99%, as compared to a cure rate of 85% – 92% for standard skin cancer surgery. Mohs surgery is the gold standard of treatment for skin cancer.

What are the advantages of Mohs surgery?

You can put your mind at ease knowing that in addition to providing you with the highest cure rate possible, the Mohs procedure removes the least amount of healthy skin compared to other surgical techniques. Conventional surgery involves removing up to a ¼ inch of the normal appearing skin all the way around the skin cancer to increase the chances of cure. The immediate tissue processing and precise mapping done with Mohs surgery makes this unnecessary. This means that the defect (hole) left after removing the cancer is leaving a smaller scar, providing you with a better cosmetic outcome.

The Process

The roots of a skin cancer can extend beyond the visible portion of the lesion. The Mohs process removes the roots of the cancer to minimize the risk of recurrence.

1. The visible portion of the lesion is surgically removed
2. The removed tissue is cut into sections and processed in our on-site laboratory so that it may be examined under a microscope. If cancer cells are found under the microscope, the surgeon removes another layer of skin, but only from precisely where the cancer cells remain.
3. This process is repeated until no cancer cells are visible under the microscope from any edge of the removed tissue. Each time this process is repeated it is called a “stage” of the Mohs procedure; generally, most cases are cleared in one to two stages.

For Information on our Mohs Surgeon Dr. Ali Rkein visit his provider biography page.