Mohs Surgery Specialist

What is Mohs Surgery?

Mohs surgery, also called Mohs micrographic surgery, is a procedure where your skin cancer lesion is slowly removed layer by layer so that the least amount of tissue is removed while still completely removing your cancerous lesion. 

What happens during the procedure?

The team at SWFL Dermatology Plastic Surgery & Laser Center is extensively trained in the necessary techniques for successful Mohs surgery and performs Mohs surgery right in the office. You are awake and alert during the procedure. 

Your provider first examines the area to be treated, then injects an anesthetic which will numb the area. Once the area is numb, they remove the visible skin cancer along with a very thin layer of the surrounding tissue. 

Your provider examines the thin layer of tissue under the microscope for cancer cells. They continue to remove thin layers of tissue until there are no cancer cells visible under the microscope.

After the cancer cells have been removed, your provider determines if your wound requires further treatment. Stitches are sometimes needed for wound closure. Some wounds need no intervention. Other wounds require a skin graft or other surgery for closure.

Why is Mohs surgery beneficial?

Mohs surgery has a unique benefit in that it allows the team to visualize where the cancer cells stop. 

As a result of this, Mohs surgery has a high cure rate and allows the least amount of tissue removal. This is especially beneficial because Mohs surgery doesn’t leave bad scars, so it is done cosmetically on sensitive areas, such as areas with minimal tissue like your eyelid, lips, or ear.

In addition, Mohs surgery is known as the gold standard for treating skin cancer by the Skin Cancer Foundation. 

For whom is Mohs surgery recommended?

Mohs surgery is most commonly performed on basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma lesions. 

It is also recommended when your lesion is aggressive or large, is located in an area with minimal tissue beneath the lesion, or has been treated but returned.

The team recommends Mohs surgery for the treatment of melanoma. The melanoma must be an early melanoma or a specific type of melanoma. 

Mohs surgery can also be used to treat rare skin cancers like extramammary Paget’s disease, Markel cell carcinoma, and dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP).

To learn more about Mohs surgery and if it’s right for you, schedule an appointment by calling the office today or booking online.