wWVUMedicine Mohs Surgery Mohs micrographic surgery is a precise surgical technique that carefully removes cancerous skin tumors layer by layer until only cancer-free tissue remains. The goal is to remove as much of the cancer as possible, while doing minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissue. Mohs surgery is the standard of care for skin cancer that requires tissue-sparing surgery. Standard skin cancer surgeries remove both cancerous cells and healthy cells at the same time. Mohs surgery is an improvement to standard surgery by combining surgical removal of the affected skin with microscopic analysis of the tissue. This increases the chance of a cure and reduces the need for additional treatments or surgery. WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES? It offers the best potential chance to cure for many types of skin cancer, making it less likely the cancer will grow back. It is minimally invasive and performed in an outpatient setting with local anesthesia instead of general anesthesia. It allows surgeons to verity that all cancer cells have been removed at the time of surgery. - By removing the least amount of tissue, it creates the smalest wound possible, thereby minimizing the scar and offering maximum preservation of healthy skin, which enhances the cosmetic and functional outcome. 855-WVU-CARE / WVUMedicine.org/Mohs wWVUMedicine Mohs Surgery Mohs micrographic surgery is a precise surgical technique that carefully removes cancerous skin tumors layer by layer until only cancer-free tissue remains. The goal is to remove as much of the cancer as possible, while doing minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissue. Mohs surgery is the standard of care for skin cancer that requires tissue-sparing surgery. Standard skin cancer surgeries remove both cancerous cells and healthy cells at the same time. Mohs surgery is an improvement to standard surgery by combining surgical removal of the affected skin with microscopic analysis of the tissue. This increases the chance of a cure and reduces the need for additional treatments or surgery. WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES? It offers the best potential chance to cure for many types of skin cancer, making it less likely the cancer will grow back. It is minimally invasive and performed in an outpatient setting with local anesthesia instead of general anesthesia. It allows surgeons to verity that all cancer cells have been removed at the time of surgery. - By removing the least amount of tissue, it creates the smalest wound possible, thereby minimizing the scar and offering maximum preservation of healthy skin, which enhances the cosmetic and functional outcome. 855-WVU-CARE / WVUMedicine.org/Mohs