What is Mohs Surgery?

This surgery offers patients a highly precise method for removing skin cancer. Mohs skin cancer surgery provides patients with three proven benefits: high cure rates, minimal scarring and quick recovery. The Mohs procedure allows our Mohs surgeons to remove only the cancerous area of skin, preserving as much healthy skin as possible. This technique greatly improves the cosmetic outcome and is highly beneficial when treating skin cancers found on the face, neck, ears and hands.

Mohs surgery is a highly specialized surgical technique used to remove skin cancer, offering the highest cure rates. Your surgery will begin with us marking your spot and then removing a thin layer of skin around your skin cancer. This layer will then be place onto a slide and analyzed under a microscope to identify any remaining cancer. If any remaining cancer is detected, a second thin layer of skin will be removed with it and similarly analyzed. These steps will continue until all of your skin cancer has been removed. For a skin cancer that has not yet been treated, Mohs micrographic surgery provides a 98% rate of cure, equal to or better than that of any other options. Even for a cancer that has treated before and has come back, Mohs surgery still generally provides a 95% chance of cure.

What are the advantages of Mohs surgery over other skin cancer treatments?

There are three main advantages: of Mohs surgery:

• cure rates between 95 and 99% for most skin cancer
• minimal scarring
• faster recovery

When will Mohs surgery be recommended?

Mohs surgery will usually be recommended for your skin cancer when it’s located on your face, neck, ears, scalp, hands, ankles, feet and breasts.

Are you board-certified and fellowship-trained in Mohs surgery?

Yes. Our Mohs surgeons are. And, that’s very important because it provides our patients with a higher degree of expertise when performing Mohs surgery.

What types of skin cancer can be treated with Mohs surgery?

The most common types of skin cancer treated are basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. However, some malignant melanoma can also be treated with Mohs surgery.

How will my incision site be repaired?

The vast majority of wounds are repaired during the cancer removal. For rare, extremely complex repairs/repairs directly involving the eyelids, a plastic or oculoplastic surgeon may perform the repair immediately following your Mohs procedure or on the following day. Our goal is to cure your skin cancer and minimize any scarring.

Where will my Mohs surgery be performed?

Your Mohs surgery will be performed in a specially designed procedure room, with the goal of providing each of our patients with the most comfortable experience possible.

How long will my surgery take?

If only one layer of skin needs to be removed to get all of your skin cancer, the procedure will usually take 60 to 90 minutes. However, if your skin cancer requires multiple layers of skin to be removed to get it all, which will require stitching between layers, your procedure may take a few hours.

Will I have much pain?

The procedure itself is fairly painless, with our team working to minimize any discomfort during the procedure by numbing the area to be cut and continuing to provide more numbing medication if additional layers of skin need to be removed.

What about after the procedure?

We recommend extra-strength TYLENOL® as needed to deal with any minor pain and discomfort which is normal and should be expected around your incision site where the skin cancer was removed.

Will my insurance cover my Mohs surgery?

Most insurance companies cover Mohs surgery and surgical reconstruction, when needed.

Please note: Since every insurance plan is different and deductibles vary greatly, we recommend that you check with your insurance company prior to scheduling your Mohs surgery.