Surgery is one of the most effective treatments for skin cancer, but a standard excision could cause unnecessary tissue damage. Associates in Dermatology, which has offices in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and Punta Gorda, Florida, specializes in Mohs surgery for skin cancer. This advanced technique removes all cancer traces without damaging healthy tissue. Call your nearest Associates in Dermatology office to learn more about Mohs surgery, or book an appointment using the online scheduling feature today.
Mohs micrographic surgery, which is sometimes called Mohs surgery, is a technique Associates in Dermatology uses to treat skin cancers, including basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, some forms of melanoma, and rare conditions like dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, a cancer that forms in the deepest skin layer (dermis).
Mohs surgery is especially useful for certain patients, such as those whose skin cancer returns after previous treatment or who have a high recurrence risk.
Large and/or aggressive cancers, those with hard-to-define borders, and ones where preserving healthy tissue is particularly important, like the eyes, ears, hands, nose, mouth, feet, and genitals, are also good candidates for Mohs surgery.
Mohs surgery has several significant benefits. It aims to eliminate all skin cancer traces without harming the healthy surrounding skin. Your dermatologist can be sure they’ve removed all of the cancer, increasing your chance of a complete cure and reducing your need for other treatments or surgeries.
Mohs is an outpatient procedure requiring only a local anesthetic, so you can go home afterward. Because Mohs surgery involves analyzing tissue samples to ensure complete skin cancer elimination, you don’t have to wait for lab results.
Mohs surgery removes thin sheets of cancerous tissue in stages. Your dermatologist examines one layer under a microscope before removing the next. They continue until there’s no cancerous tissue left.
This technique allows the Associates in Dermatology team to examine the area around the excised skin and tissue (surgical margin) in detail. They can identify remaining tumor traces, pinpoint their exact location, and remove only cancerous tissue.
Mohs surgery may involve multiple repetitions of tissue layer removal and examination to eliminate cancer. Therefore, the procedure could take some time to complete.
Depending on how much tissue needs removing, your dermatologist might leave the wound to heal on its own, use sutures, pull nearby skin over it to seal the wound, or apply a skin graft.
Grafting involves taking skin from another area of your body, such as behind your ear, to cover the wound. Only large wounds may need a skin graft. Occasionally, patients require reconstructive surgery to repair the tissue, but this is rare.
Call Associates in Dermatology to learn more about Mohs surgery’s benefits, or schedule a consultation online today.