A Few Things to Remember About Mohs Surgery

According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, approximately 879 000 cases of tumors are remedied using Mohs surgery yearly in America. Also called Mohs Micrographic Surgery, Mohs Surgery San Antonio provides another way of remedying certain skin cancers. Here are a few things to remember about this special technique.

What Mohs surgery involves

As a common special technique, your dermatological surgeon can utilize it to remove cancerous cells affecting the skin. Your dermatological surgeon will progressively remove very thin layers of your skin, with each layer examined for cancerous tissues.

The removal of skin layers happens until the next layer shows it does not have cancerous cells or tumors. Mohs surgery allows your surgeon to remove only cancerous cells and not interfere with the nearby healthy skin.

Your surgeon will advise you to undergo Mohs Micrographic Surgery if skin tumors affect areas with little tissues. These are your lips, eyelids, face, feet, hands, or ears. The procedure can help eliminate basal cell carcinoma, deep skin tumors, and tumors without defined edges on the skin.

Preparation for Mohs Surgery

Your medical doctor will provide you with essential information that, when adhered to, can ensure your body is adequately prepared. For example, your healthcare provider might suggest you avoid dietary supplements and medications. Some supplements and medications, even those prescribed, can make you susceptible to bleeding and infections during and after Mohs surgery.

Moreover, you should ensure you do not have any other scheduled activities during the day of surgery. Although surgery can take approximately five hours, it can also take longer, making finding time for other activities impossible. 

You might also be required to eat normally and keep your body hydrated. Hydrating and nourishing your body strengthens you; thus, you can endure this special surgery and heal faster.

Advantages of having Mohs Surgery

Examining the extracted skin layer in the lab allows the pinpoint identification of the sites on the skin with cancerous cells. Your surgical doctor can then remove the area affected by a tumor and preserve as much healthy tissue as possible.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center reports that Mohs surgery has a success rate of about 98%. When you return home, you often do not have tumors anymore.

Moreover, Mohs surgery will often not require you to stay in the hospital long. Immediately after your surgery, you can go home if you are not prone to complications.

This particular surgical procedure also reduces your risk of developing scars or complications. Furthermore, Moh’s surgery reduces your need for anesthetics.

Potential risks you can get from Mohs surgery

If you choose to undergo Mohs surgery, understand that you will become at risk of damaged skin nerves and bleeding. Also, the operated skin areas might swell, be painful for a few days, and form scars.

If you have side effects that are painful and uncomfortable, ensure you inform your surgeon immediately. That will allow your doctor to provide a solution that can help relieve side effects.

Contact Limmer Dermatology today to book an appointment with a specialist in Mohs surgery and learn if your tumor can be eliminated.