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Mohs micrographic surgery

(moze MY-kroh-GRA-fik SER-juh-ree)
A procedure used to treat certain types of skin cancer, penile cancer, mouth cancer (especially cancer of the lip), and soft tissue sarcoma of the skin. During Mohs micrographic surgery, the visible tumor and a thin layer of tissue around it is removed. The tissue is then checked under a microscope for the presence of cancer cells at all edges of the tumor. If cancer cells are seen, another thin layer of tissue is removed and checked under the microscope. This process is repeated until no more cancer cells are seen. Mohs micrographic surgery removes as little normal tissue as possible. It is most often used to remove skin cancers on the scalp, face, lip, ear, neck, hands, feet, and genitals, including cancer on or just under the skin of the penis. Also called Mohs surgery.
Mohs surgery; drawing shows a visible lesion on the skin. The pullout shows a block of skin with cancer in the epidermis (outer layer of the skin) and the dermis (inner layer of the skin). A visible lesion is shown on the skin’s surface. Four numbered blocks show the removal of thin layers of the skin one at a time until all the cancer is removed.Enlarge this image in new window
Mohs surgery. A surgical procedure to remove a visible lesion on the skin in several steps. First, a thin layer of cancerous tissue is removed. Then, a second thin layer of tissue is removed and viewed under a microscope to check for cancer cells. More layers are removed one at a time until the tissue viewed under a microscope shows no remaining cancer. This type of surgery is used to remove as little normal tissue as possible.
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