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Treat Skin Cancer Effectively With Mohs Surgery

Published on October 15, 2014

Skin cancer is one of the most common and deadly cancers in the United States. If you’ve been diagnosed with skin cancer and your doctor has suggested the removal via Mohs surgery, you should know what to expect. Mohs surgery has the highest cure rate for cancer, so it’s definitely something you should consider as a patient.

Who is Mohs Surgery for?

The Mohs surgery technique was developed in the 1930s and is now considered by most prominent skin cancer resources to be the preferred method of removal for basal and squamous cell carcinomas. It is the best procedure for removing all of the cancer while keeping as much healthy tissue as possible, meaning it’s the best for facial or visible areas affected with cancer.

Why Should I Choose Mohs Surgery for My Skin Cancer Removal Procedure?

Most excision techniques cut out an area of tissue and hope that all of the cancer was removed. The tissue isn’t examined under a microscope until after the surgery. The Mohs micrographic surgery removes tissue one layer at a time and the edges of the excised tissue are put under a microscope during the procedure until there are no cancer cells visible. This guarantees that all of the cancer cells will be removed.

Removal of Melanoma With Mohs

Melanoma was very rarely–if ever–removed by the Mohs technique for fear that some cells might be missed under the microscopic examination and spread throughout the body. However, thanks to medical advancement, there are now special stains for certain types of melanoma that will highlight any stray melanoma cells. Many doctors now use Mohs to excise certain types of melanomas quite successfully.

If your doctor is encouraging you to consider Mohs Micrographic surgery after a skin cancer diagnosis, you should keep in mind its high cure rate. Not only is the cure rate extremely high, it also is the best method of removing cancer with minimal removal of healthy tissue. Consult with a board certified dermatologist to guarantee full removal and minimal scarring. Just because you’ve been diagnosed with cancer doesn’t mean you should have to live the rest of your life with the scar.