Mohs micrographic surgery
- What is skin cancer?
- What are basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas?
- What about melanoma?
- How successful is the treatment of skin cancer?
- What is Mohs surgery?
- How do I prepare for the day of surgery?
- What happens the day of surgery?
- What can I expect after the surgery is complete?
- Will I develop more skin cancers?
- Patient questionnaire (PDF file) -
Please print, fill out, sign and bring with you to your surgery appointment.
Dr. Neil Swanson, Dr. Anna Bar
and Dr. Ken K. Lee
What about melanoma?
Melanoma is the deadliest skin cancer accounting for two-thirds of all deaths
attributed to skin cancers. The standard treatment for melanoma is surgical removal of
the melanoma and a wide area of normal appearing
skin surrounding the melanoma. There are, however, special cases, especially on the
head and neck region, where Mohs micrographic surgery is beneficial in the treament of melanoma.
Many of the melanomas in this region have poorly defined borders making standard excision
difficult.Mohs surgery in the treatment of melanoma is modified. The initial stages done by frozen sectioning is the same as for other skin cancers. At the conclusion of the standard Mohs surgery, however, an additional rim of tissue is removed for additional histological examination that can take a few days to process. This additional step allows for a more precise treatment of the melanoma. Accordingly, the reconstruction will be delayed until this final rim of tissue is cancer free.