Is Mohs the Choice for YOUR Skin Cancer?
- Posted on: Dec 15 2016
More people are choosing to receive skin cancer treatment from a fellowship trained Mohs surgeon. You may have heard about this procedure, but not enough to know whether or not it is the right approach for your skin cancer. Why do so many people turn to Mohs? The primary reason is because they want the best chance they can get to eliminate cancerous cells. In almost every case, Mohs can achieve the highest degree of removal compared to any other type of treatment. Those options include laser, cryosurgery, scraping and burning, and excision (surgical removal).
But wait, isn’t Mohs also a surgical procedure?
Technically, this procedure is referred to as Mohs micrographic surgery. It is a surgical procedure, but involving a technique through which minimal disruption to healthy tissue occurs. The minimally invasive nature of Mohs is yet another reason why patients seek out our UK office for care.
When Mohs is Appropriate
Mohs micrographic surgery is being used to remove basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas that are:
- Located in an area of scar tissue.
- Significantly sized.
- Located in highly visible places, such as the nose or the forehead.
- Ill-defined around the edges.
- Growing at a rapid pace.
- Categorized as recurring lesions.
Why Mohs is Appropriate
The goal in Mohs skin cancer removal is to preserve as much healthy tissue as possible while removing all cancerous cells. Thin layers of tissue are evaluated immediately, on site, by a surgeon trained to identify cells and correlate them to the surgical site, which leads to 100% evaluation of surgical margins. And this facilitates:
- Minimal tissue disruption.
- Maximum cosmetic outcome.
- Optimal success, even with recurring cancers or previous failures.
- Same-day reconstruction in many cases.
- Greatest chance of eliminating recurrence.
There are costs to consider, as well. More important than the actual cost of skin cancer treatment is the emotional and physical toll that this disease takes on the patient and his or her family. When you choose Mohs, you gain peace of mind that you will not require multiple surgeries to attain the desired outcome, which is to be cancer-free.
Dr. Hussain is a UK Mohs surgeon who has obtained fellowship with the American College of Mohs Surgery. Learn more about this procedure and how it can help you when you call one of our conveniently located offices.
Posted in: Mohs Surgery
