What You Need to Know About Mohs Surgery

When you are diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, and basal cell carcinoma, the most common skin cancer, the best treatment method is Mohs surgery. Mohs surgery has become an effective and very successful method for curing skin cancer. Mohs surgery allows the reduction of cancerous cells leaving small scars and sparing the healthy tissues. Only specialized dermatologists like Dr. William T. Long can perform Mohs surgery.

What is the procedure of Mohs Surgery?

Doctors who are specially trained to perform Mohs surgery must fulfill three roles: as a pathologist to analyze the lab specimens, as a surgeon who removes cancerous tissues, as a surgeon who reconstructs or closes the wound. The surgeon removes cancerous tissues from your skin creates a map of the affected area after marking the edges with colored dyes. The lab technician processes the tissues on the microscope.

The surgeon then examines the tissues under the microscope to map and identify the cancer’s remaining roots. If any cancer cells are determined, different tissues are removed only where cancer remains, maintaining the normal skin.

Advantages of Mohs Surgery

Mohs surgery has the highest curing rate compared to other current skin cancer treatments, around 99%.

Using one physician as both the pathologist and the surgeon during Mohs surgery reduces the lack of proper communication between the pathologist and surgeon, minimizing errors that arise with other skin cancer treatments.

Immediate results are obtained, and skin cancer removal accuracy increases because the clear tissue margins are removed rather than an estimate. It reduces the complication of re-establishment in certain parts of the body.

Mohs surgery ensures the complete cancer is eliminated naturally, reducing the chances of it growing back.

Mohs surgery is less expensive than other treatments.

What are the Risks of Mohs Surgery?

Local anesthesia is performed with Mohs surgery to reduce surgical risks brought about by general anesthesia.  

Excessive bleeding from the wound increases the risk of wound infection. It also causes discomfort and swelling, wound healing delay, chest discomfort, shortness of breath, and lightheadedness.

If a tumor storms a nerve, a person may lose nerve function; this might be permanent or temporary.

After surgery, make sure you take care of your wound and your surgical site carefully on a daily basis for infections that may occur.

Reconstruction after Mohs Surgery

Mohs surgery can leave a defect in the area the skin cancer was removed. Reconstruction is aimed at rebuilding a patient back to normal.

There are several wound repairing options, including:

Healing by granulation – This means letting the wound heal naturally. Certain areas in the body are left to heal naturally because they recover the same way as the surgical procedure. Some reconstructive surgery can be performed if the wound is left to heal, and the resultant scar is unacceptable.

Skin grafting – involves borrowing skin from another area and placing it where cancer has been removed over the wound.

Sewing the wound using side-to-side closure – This involves stitching the skin edges together. This method typically offers excellent results and speeds the healing process.

Suppose you are suffering from basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma. In that case, you don’t have to worry so much about the treatment because Manhattan dermatology has physicians who perform Mohs surgery well. Please book an appointment with them today and eliminate cancerous cells in your body.