MOHS Micrographic Surgery

Mohs micrographic surgery is the most effective method for treating many skin cancers and leaves patients with the smallest possible scars, if any.

Your Mohs surgeon removes your skin cancer (typically Basal cell carcinoma or Squamous cell carcinoma) using a highly specialized and exact method that removes the cancer in stages, one tissue layer at a time. With each layer, the surgeon examines the entire margin of the tissue under the microscope to determine if more needs to be removed, and if so, where exactly. This technique allows for the smallest possible defect to be created, one which is typically only a couple millimeters larger than the tumor was itself (a safety margin, necessary in all cancer removals). Once the defect is there, the Mohs surgeon reconstructs the area to minimize the chances of scarring and optimizing your aesthetic results as well.

Mohs surgery is unique and so effective because of the way the removed tissue is microscopically examined, evaluating 100% of the surgical margins. The examination of the tissue margins is done on site by the Mohs surgeon, who is specially trained in the reading of these slides and is best able to correlate any microscopic findings with the surgical site on the patient.

Why chose Mohs surgery? Because Mohs surgery:

  • Entirely removes the cancer on the day of the surgery, with minimal if any chances of it growing back
  • Minimizes the amount of normal skin lost
  • Achieves the best functional and cosmetic results from surgery
  • Cures skin cancer when other methods have failed

There are other skin cancer treatments but they only guess the amount of tissue to remove, thus often removing more healthy skin than necessary and/or the tumor recurring at a later date if some of the cancer is missed.

Your Mohs surgery should be performed only by a Mohs College Fellowship trained surgeon. A Mohs College surgeon is specially trained as a cancer surgeon, pathologist, and reconstructive surgeon.

Dr. Michele Pauporte is our experienced Fellowship trained Mohs surgeon.