Mohs micrographic surgery is a specialized surgical procedure used to treat skin cancers, typically located on the head and neck. Certain tumors on the rest of the body are also treated using Mohs surgery. The name “Mohs” honors the doctor who developed the technique in the 1930’s, Dr. Fredrick Mohs.

The technique offers three main advantages over traditional skin cancer removal treatments:

• The highest cure rate. Mohs surgery has the highest success rate of all treatments for skin cancer – up to 99%.
• Tissue sparing. During Mohs surgery, only the skin with tumor in it is removed and therefore the patient is left with the smallest wound or “defect” possible. Smaller defects mean smaller scars once the area is closed. In traditional excisions, the edges are not checked in “real-time” so safety margins are necessary resulting in larger defects and eventually larger scars. On the face, even a few of millimeters difference in a scar length can make a difference cosmetically.
• Same day procedure. Mohs surgery is typically done over the period of one day. The skin cancer is removed and the surgeon examines the margins under the microscope while the patient waits. Only small pieces of tissue are removed at a time to preserve as much normal skin as possible. Once the skin cancer is removed, the wound will then be repaired.