There are various modalities used when treating skin cancers. Mohs micrographic surgery is a highly specialized treatment used for skin cancers mostly on the head and neck area or cosmetically sensitive areas on the skin. The mainstay of treatment for most skin cancers is surgical excision. In regards to surgical excision, the patient is brought into the office the area where the biopsy was done is anesthetized with lidocaine mixed with epinephrine. A small margin of normal skin is taken around the area of the skin cancer. This tissue is sent to pathology where it is analyzed by a dermatopathologist under the microscope to ensure that we have clear margins.
Once the skin cancer is removed, the area of involvement is closed with surgical suture and subcutaneous sutures are placed first underneath the skin. This gives the wound support followed by cutaneous sutures on the superficial aspect of the skin. The patient is then advised to follow up in one to two weeks for suture removal.
