Mohs Surgery/Surgical Excision

Surgical Excision is a treatment option available to treat skin cancers, atypical nevi, and some benign growths.

An Excision is the removal of the skin cancer, atypical nevus, or growth along with some of the healthy skin tissue around it (this is called the margin). For this procedure, a local anesthetic is used to numb the area. After the cancerous, atypical, or other area is removed, the incision is closed with stitches. If the incision is large, sometimes a skin graft or flap is required.

Mohs surgery is a precise surgical technique used to treat skin cancer. During Mohs surgery, layers of cancer-containing skin are progressively removed and examined until only cancer-free tissue remains. Mohs surgery is also known as Mohs micrographic surgery.

The goal of Mohs surgery is to remove as much of the skin cancer as possible, while doing minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissue. Mohs surgery is usually done on an outpatient basis using a local anesthetic.

Mohs surgery is an improvement to standard surgery (local excision), which involves removing the visible cancer and a small margin of healthy tissue all at once. Mohs surgery allows surgeons to verify that all cancer cells have been removed at the time of surgery. This increases the chance of a cure and reduces the need for additional treatments or additional surgery.