When Is Mohs Surgery Recommended?

One of Clermont, FL's Leading Dermatologists

Dr. David Allyn, a licensed, highly experienced, board-certified medical doctor, directs this dermatology practice, Aesthetic Dermatology, in Clermont, FL. Our doctor wants to inform the public about Mohs Surgery for skin cancer.

In the 1930s, Dr. Mohs discovered this procedure, so it is familiar within the dermatological field. However, over the last twenty years, this procedure has been redefined and reshaped into an exact science.

The targeted areas most susceptible to skin cancers are,

• Face
• Scalp
• Ears
• Hands
• Feet
• Genitals

What Is Mohs Surgery?

New patients to Aesthetic Dermatology in Clermont, FL, find that this office treats most skin conditions and performs surgical procedures related to the skin, especially skin cancer. Skin cancer can be treated, but you must catch it in its earliest stages.

Mohs surgery is a procedure in which our doctor removes the cancer cells and does not remove the surrounding healthy tissue, leaving this area intact as much as possible. The doctor uses Mohs surgery on squamous cell and basal cell carcinomas.

The procedure removes only the thinnest skin layers containing the cancerous cells. Before the doctor proceeds to the next layer of skin, he ensures that cancer cells are present before removing the next layer of skin. The surgery stops as soon as the next layer of skin shows no cancer cells. The benefits of having this procedure versus a traditional method are,

• This procedure uses local anesthesia; you are awake during the process.
• There is a higher rate of cancer return in 10%-20% of all patients in five years. Mohs surgery may reoccur in five years but in only 1% to 5% of patients. 
• Mohs leaves a significant amount of healthy skin with minimum scarring. Traditional surgery takes more of the healthy skin and leaves a significant scar.
• Mohs is an outpatient procedure at a surgical center or doctor's office.
• The Mohs surgical procedure is acutely exact in removing high-risk skin cancer.
• The doctor is precise in not removing any healthy tissue cells showing no cancer.
• The Mohs procedure means an early cure rate of 99%.

Call Us Today for Your Skin Exam

It is wise for patients to have a skin cancer check yearly. However, some doctors advise a skin cancer check more often if you live in a sunny hot state such as Florida.

Call Dr. Allyn today, at the Aesthetic Dermatology, in Clermont, FL, or Lady Lake, FL, at (352) 243-2544 for your skin exam or to discuss the Mohs procedure. Skin cancer can be eliminated when caught early, and the procedure takes about two hours or less, a small price to pay to rid your skin of cancerous cells.