Mohs surgery is a skin cancer treatment, which involves a surgeon carefully removing layers of tissue that contain skin cancer. Rather than removing a large chunk of skin, which is often unnecessary and dangerous, this approach has the surgeon test each tissue for the presence of skin cancer while the patient is still on the table. If there is still cancer present, the surgeon removes more, if it is clear, then the surgeon can be confident the cancer has been removed. This allows for the highest level of margin control, but with any surgery may leave scarring.

Mohs surgery is effective on the most common form of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma. When Mohs surgery is utilized to remove this type of skin cancer, there is a >97% cure rate. The second most common skin cancer type, squamous cell carcinoma, may also be treated with Mohs surgery, however, the cure rate is not as high as basal cell carcinoma. For all other skin cancer types, Mohs surgery is also worth utilizing and may very likely be recommended by your oncologist.

After a successful Mohs surgery, patients often rejoice at being cancer free. However, Mohs reconstruction can allow for final relief at having the patient’s appearance restored. A reconstruction plan will be created in accordance with the patient and their primary surgeon, as the patient should be completely cancer free before proceeding with reconstruction.

In some cases, the patient is able to undergo reconstruction immediately following Mohs surgery. The extent of the Mohs surgery will determine how the reconstruction will be approached. Medium-sized wounds can be fixed using careful stitches by a plastic surgeon, while larger wounds may require a more extensive skin graft transplant from another area of the body to allow for complete repair. A reconstructive specialist at the Plastic Surgery Group is the best decision for Mohs reconstruction, as our careful hands and expertise will best secure a beautiful end result.

If you have Mohs surgery scheduled to treat your skin cancer, inquire with the Plastic Surgery Group about coming up with a plan for reconstruction following the procedure. We will work with your doctors and oncologists to ensure a safe and speedy recovery so that you can move on with your life — confident and skin cancer free!