Mohs Surgery to Treat Skin Cancer
Skin cancer has become the most common form of cancer with as many as 1 in 5 Americans facing the disease. At the same time that more and more people are coping with the disease, more and newer treatments are becoming available. While some of these new treatments offer advantages, many people are turning to Mohs Surgery in New Jersey for it’s relatively simple procedure and proven results.
What is it?
Mohs surgery is a type of microsurgery that was invented in the 1930’s by Dr. Frederick Mohs to eliminate skin cancer from patients. The surgery is based on the idea of removing very thin layers of affected skin area and examining them closely. A surgeon will identify a cancerous area and begin removing the cancerous skin plus a small amount of the healthy skin that lies below it. The surgeon will then closely observe the area removed, checking to make sure that there is no cancer in the healthy skin on the bottom side of the piece that has been removed. If cancerous cells are found on the bottom or healthy side of the sample then the surgeon will remove further skin, repeating this process until all of the skin cancer is gone. Once the surgeon removes a sample and finds no cancerous cells on the bottom or healthy side of the sample, he or she can be certain that all of the cancer has been removed from that area.
Benefits
Mohs surgery has many benefits, however most people would agree that the number one benefit the procedure offers is that it works! Some studies have shown that Mohs surgery has a cure rate of over 98%. No other procedure currently being used can match that statistic. The other reason that many people prefer Mohs surgery for skin cancer treatment is that it has the best cosmetic results afterward. Mohs surgery typically removes much less skin than traditional methods, which leads to less scarring and deformation of the skin. The reason Mohs surgery is able to accomplish so much with so little scarring is in the procedure. In Mohs surgery the surgeon will examine the layers of flesh being removed during the procedure, thus allowing them to remove less flesh overall. In other methods a large portion of skin is removed and then studied at a later point in a laboratory. This means that more skin must be removed to ensure that all of the cancer is removed. In other words, when not doing a Mohs procedure, surgeons must err on the side of taking too much skin in order not to leave any cancerous cells whereas a surgeon performing Mohs surgery can take the minimum amount needed to eliminate the cancer and thus preserve much of the skin’s integrity.
Mohs surgery also typically has a faster recovery time than other procedures due once again to the minimal amount of skin actually being removed. The wounds created by the surgery will be as small as possible and therefore take less time to heal.
What Types of Skin Cancer is Mohs Effective Against?
Currently, Mohs surgery is thought of as being the most effective treatment against Squamous Cell Carcinomas as well as Basal Cell Carcinomas. These are by far the most common types of skin cancer. Until recently Mohs surgery has not been used frequently to eliminate Melanoma. This is because many surgeons feared that they might miss tiny melanoma cells that can be tough to identify and thus the cells might metastasize and spread throughout the body. Recently, improvements in the technique such as the creation of special dyes to help identify the cells have made the procedure safer and more reliable for treating melanoma. With these technologies getting better and better and melanoma rates on the rise more and more people will be turning to Mohs surgery in NJ.
Though it is a rather old surgical practice, Mohs surgery remains popular today because it makes sense. Patients often like the idea of a surgeon removing only the tissue that is necessary to eliminate the cancer and not taking a huge chunk and then checking it later. The surgery has simplicity those appeals too many as well as a proven track record at removing cancerous cells while creating the minimum amount of damage to the skin.
What is it?
Mohs surgery is a type of microsurgery that was invented in the 1930’s by Dr. Frederick Mohs to eliminate skin cancer from patients. The surgery is based on the idea of removing very thin layers of affected skin area and examining them closely. A surgeon will identify a cancerous area and begin removing the cancerous skin plus a small amount of the healthy skin that lies below it. The surgeon will then closely observe the area removed, checking to make sure that there is no cancer in the healthy skin on the bottom side of the piece that has been removed. If cancerous cells are found on the bottom or healthy side of the sample then the surgeon will remove further skin, repeating this process until all of the skin cancer is gone. Once the surgeon removes a sample and finds no cancerous cells on the bottom or healthy side of the sample, he or she can be certain that all of the cancer has been removed from that area.
Benefits
Mohs surgery has many benefits, however most people would agree that the number one benefit the procedure offers is that it works! Some studies have shown that Mohs surgery has a cure rate of over 98%. No other procedure currently being used can match that statistic. The other reason that many people prefer Mohs surgery for skin cancer treatment is that it has the best cosmetic results afterward. Mohs surgery typically removes much less skin than traditional methods, which leads to less scarring and deformation of the skin. The reason Mohs surgery is able to accomplish so much with so little scarring is in the procedure. In Mohs surgery the surgeon will examine the layers of flesh being removed during the procedure, thus allowing them to remove less flesh overall. In other methods a large portion of skin is removed and then studied at a later point in a laboratory. This means that more skin must be removed to ensure that all of the cancer is removed. In other words, when not doing a Mohs procedure, surgeons must err on the side of taking too much skin in order not to leave any cancerous cells whereas a surgeon performing Mohs surgery can take the minimum amount needed to eliminate the cancer and thus preserve much of the skin’s integrity.
Mohs surgery also typically has a faster recovery time than other procedures due once again to the minimal amount of skin actually being removed. The wounds created by the surgery will be as small as possible and therefore take less time to heal.
What Types of Skin Cancer is Mohs Effective Against?
Currently, Mohs surgery is thought of as being the most effective treatment against Squamous Cell Carcinomas as well as Basal Cell Carcinomas. These are by far the most common types of skin cancer. Until recently Mohs surgery has not been used frequently to eliminate Melanoma. This is because many surgeons feared that they might miss tiny melanoma cells that can be tough to identify and thus the cells might metastasize and spread throughout the body. Recently, improvements in the technique such as the creation of special dyes to help identify the cells have made the procedure safer and more reliable for treating melanoma. With these technologies getting better and better and melanoma rates on the rise more and more people will be turning to Mohs surgery in NJ.
Though it is a rather old surgical practice, Mohs surgery remains popular today because it makes sense. Patients often like the idea of a surgeon removing only the tissue that is necessary to eliminate the cancer and not taking a huge chunk and then checking it later. The surgery has simplicity those appeals too many as well as a proven track record at removing cancerous cells while creating the minimum amount of damage to the skin.