MOHS SURGERY

MOHS SURGERY

Mohs surgery or Mohs micrographic surgery is a procedure done with patients who have skin cancer. In this surgery, the thin portion of the skin cancer is removed to be assessed.

The surgery aims to eliminate the skin with cancer with minimal damage around the healthy tissue. It is conducted with the use of anesthetic on the outpatient and an improved surgery among the cancer patients since it only gives a small damage in the tissues.

Furthermore, Mohs surgery will benefit medical research if the cancer cells were eliminated with the procedure. It may also help raise the possibility of the curing and treatment of cancer cells. 

SYMPTOMS

This surgery is very important in patients with skin cancers because it can cure and treat the common and uncommon ones, including basal cell carcinoma, melanoma, and squamous cell carcinoma.

Moreover, the procedure is needed by skin cancers that have:

  • Aggressive cancer cells
  •  More healthy tissues to protect like ears, genitals, mouth, nose, eyes, feet, and hands
  •  The potential to develop a high risk of reappearance of the condition
  •  Borders that are difficult to describe

TREATMENT

It can be executed in the operating room as an outpatient, granted that there is a nearby facility where the tissue removed can immediately be examined.

Mostly, this procedure can be done in just a couple of hours. Yet, there are conditions wherein doctors are experiencing difficulty in determining cancer by examining it at the surface. The patient is not required to change into the procedural gown, except when the cancer site needs it.

In preparation for the procedure, the nurse and the doctor will clean the skin portion to be operated on. They will also outline the area using a surgery pen and inject the anesthesia to numb the skin from pain while the surgery is ongoing.

Also, as the anesthesia takes effect in the affected area, a scalpel will be used to scrape the thin layer of the skin so that the doctor will see the larger portion of the cancer. Lastly, this surgery lasts for an hour or so, depending on the severity of the condition. 

Related Articles

TETRALOGY OF FALLOT

Overview and FactsTypes and SymptomsDiagnosis & MedicationsOverview and Facts Tetralogy of Fallot is a congenital heart defect that affects the [...]

TRICHINOSIS

Overview and FactsTypes and SymptomsDiagnosis & MedicationsOverview and Facts Trichinosis, also known as trichinellosis, is a parasitic infection caused by [...]

TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA

Overview and FactsTypes and SymptomsDiagnosis & MedicationsOverview and Facts Trigeminal neuralgia is a neurological condition characterized by severe facial pain. [...]