What is Mohs Surgery?

Mohs micrographic surgery is a precise surgical procedure used to treat skin cancer. During Mohs surgery, thin layers of cancer-containing skin are progressively removed and examined until only cancer-free tissue remains. 

The goal of Mohs surgery is to remove as much of the skin cancer as possible, while doing minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissue. Mohs surgery is usually done on an outpatient basis using a local anesthetic

What is Mohs used to treat?

Mohs surgery is especially useful for skin cancers that:

• Have a high risk of recurrence or have recurred after previous treatment
• Are located in areas where preserving as much healthy tissue as possible, is important such as around the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands, feet and genitals
• Have borders that are hard to define
• Are large or aggressive

How is the Mohs procedure done?

Our surgeon uses a scalpel to remove the visible portion of the cancer along with a thin, underlying layer of tissue that’s slightly larger than the visible tumor this step only takes a few minutes.

The surgeon then takes this tissue to the laboratory for analysis. This portion of the procedure typically is what takes the longest amount of time.

The surgeon will cut the tissue sample into sections and examines them with a microscope. If a small area of cancer is found in one piece of tissue, the surgeon knows precisely where to continue with the surgery.

If cancer remains, your Mohs surgery will continue. Our surgeon removes an additional layer of tissue from the affected area, taking care to remove tissue that contains cancer while leaving as much healthy tissue as possible intact. Again, you’ll wait while the surgeon examines the tissue in the laboratory.

The process is repeated until the last tissue sample removed is cancer-free. Local anesthetic can be re-administered as necessary.