what is mohs surgery

Mohs surgery is a surgical technique used to treat skin cancer, including common types such as basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, as well as melanoma and other less-common skin cancers. During the procedure, the surgeon removes thin layers of skin one layer at a time and examines each layer under a microscope to determine if any cancer remains. This process continues until only cancer-free tissue remains, allowing the surgeon to be sure that all the cancer is gone and reducing the need for other treatments or more surgery. Mohs surgery is performed under local anesthesia on an outpatient basis, and the entire procedure usually lasts several hours. The advantages of Mohs surgery include its high cure rate, the ability to preserve as much healthy skin as possible, and its precision in evaluating the tissue surrounding the cancer more thoroughly than traditional skin cancer surgery techniques. Mohs surgery is performed by doctors who are specially trained to fulfill three roles: as the surgeon who removes the cancerous tissue, as the pathologist who analyzes the lab specimens, and as the surgeon who closes or reconstructs the wound.