Mohs Surgeon – Choosing the Right Physician for Your Procedure

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer, not just in the United States, but around the world. In fact, one in five Americans will develop skin cancer by the time they turn 70. The good news is that there is a positive prognosis for most skin cancers detected early and treated properly. Mohs surgery is among the most effective treatment methods available to properly and thoroughly remove skin cancer lesions. Finding the right Mohs surgeon is a vitally important step. Patients in the Akron/Cleveland area are fortunate to have a choice among specially trained professionals close to home.

Fellowship Trained Mohs Surgeon

As Mohs surgery becomes more common as a widely accepted and highly effective treatment for many types of skin cancer, selecting the right surgeon requires some evaluation. Not all Mohs surgeons receive the same type or level of training. The highest level of qualification is a physician who has completed a fellowship that qualifies through the American College of Mohs Surgery (ACMS). Typically, a physician will complete their dermatology residency and then must apply for acceptance into a Micrographic Surgery & Dermatologic Oncology (Mohs) fellowship training course.

Experienced and Trusted Team Members

Our Mohs Surgeons have completed this rigorous training program through the Cleveland Clinic, an internationally recognized medical institution. The Cleveland Clinic accepts just three physicians for its Mohs surgery fellowship each year. Comprehensive training involves extensive, hands-on practice with highly qualified instructors at a facility that sees up to 5,000 Mohs surgeries during the course of a year at its main facility and satellite surgery centers. This intense program ensures the physician becomes familiar with both common and rarer forms of tumors and carcinomas.

A Mohs surgeon with Allied Dermatology can recognize, evaluate and determine the best, most efficacious course of treatment for skin cancer, regardless of type. We are your partners in this journey through cancer diagnosis, care, treatment and recovery, treating you with the concern and respect you deserve.

Mohs Surgery – A Closer Look

Once a patient is diagnosed with skin cancer, a common type of surgical removal that might be recommended is Mohs surgery.

What differentiates Mohs surgery from other types of surgical removal is its precision and methodology. Mohs surgery is a careful, exacting process that requires the doctor to remove an area of the skin where the cancer is present and view it under a microscope to find the edges of the cancerous cells before removing the next layer. Often, the cancerous lesion that shows on the skin’s surface has roots that can extend deep into the tissue below. In Mohs surgery, the physician continues this process of removal and examination layer by layer until all of the cancerous cells are removed from the area of concern.

During this process the physician leaves the healthy tissue surrounding the area, intact. This highly specialized removal method helps reduce scarring and results in a more effective treatment. The meticulous care to limit scarring makes Mohs micrographic surgery a particularly beneficial and desirable option for patients with cancer on the face, hands or other visible body parts.

Generally, it will require stitches when completed, but healing proceeds at a rapid pace with proper aftercare of the surgical area.

Consult with our physicians who are trained and skilled in Mohs surgery.