termsTerm
Mohs surgery
aka Mohs, Mohs micrographic surgery
Skin cancer surgery in which the tumour is removed in thin layers, each checked under the microscope on the spot, until the edges are clear; it spares the most normal skin.
Developed by Frederic Mohs, it achieves cure rates above 97% for basal cell and cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas, and is preferred for tumours on the face, recurrent tumours, and aggressive histologies where tissue conservation matters. Each stage takes an hour or so of processing, so the procedure can last a day. It is not used for melanoma in most centres because frozen sections read melanocytes poorly.
Category
Procedures