About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffMohs surgery, also known as Mohs micrographic surgery, is a precise surgical technique for removing several types of skin cancers. During Mohs surgery, layers of cancer-containing skin are progressively removed and examined until only cancer-free tissue remains.
When performed by an experienced surgeon, Mohs surgery offers maximum removal of cancer with minimum damage to surrounding healthy tissue. Mohs surgery is usually done on an outpatient basis using a local anesthetic.
Mohs surgery is often cited as having the highest cure rate for the most common type of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma. It's also highly effective for recurrent basal cell carcinoma and offers the highest cure rate for these cancers, as well.
- Important patient information regarding Mohs micrographic surgery in the treatment of skin cancer. American Society for Mohs Surgery. http://mohssurgery.i4adev.com/files/public/patient_information_brochure.pdf. Accessed April 28, 2010.
- Premalignant and malignant nonmelanoma skin tumors. In: Habif TP. Clinical Dermatology: A Color Guide to Diagnosis and Therapy. 5th edition. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=aboutPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7234-3541-9..X0001-6--TOP&isbn=978-0-7234-3541-9&uniq=204085711. Accessed April 28, 2010.
- Bowen GM, et al. Mohs micrographic surgery. American Family Physician. 2005;72:845.
- Murphy ME, et al. Errors in the interpretation of Mohs histopathology sections over a 1-year fellowship. Dermatologic Surgery. 2008;34:1637.
- Mosterd K, et al. Surgical excision versus Mohs' micrographic surgery for primary and recurrent basal-cell carcinoma of the face: A prospective randomised controlled trial with 5-years' follow-up. Lancet Oncology. 2008;9:1149.
- Whalen JW, et al. Mohs micrographic surgery for the treatment of malignant melanoma. Clinics in Dermatology. 2009;27:597.
- About Mohs micrographic surgery: The procedure and post-operative care. American College of Mohs Surgery. http://www.mohscollege.org/about/procedure.php. Accessed April 29, 2010.
- Mohs micrographic surgery. Skin Cancer Foundation. http://www.skincancer.org/Mohs-Surgery/. Accessed May 4, 2010.
Find Mayo Clinic on