Skin Cancer Treatment

Electrodesiccation and Curettage The area is numbed using a tiny needle. The tumor is scraped out using a sharp instrument, called a curette (see photo below), and the base of the wound is burned using an electrical instrument called a Hyfrecator (see photo below), or, less commonly, with a laser. After the treatment, an open…

Mohs’ Micrographic Surgery Mohs’ Micrographic Surgery is a highly specialized method of removing and examining cancerous tissue to ensure its removal. Frederic Mohs first invented this procedure, which is named after him. For the most common forms of skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma), this procedure has the highest cure rate (least…

According to a recent study, there is great variation from one Mohs’ surgeon to another when having Mohs’ surgery. In this study, they found that the mean number of stages per case was 1.47 (range, 1.09-4.11). The variation in range is huge!!! Thirty-five percent of surgeons were persistent outliers (performed more stages than the mean) in all three…

A study published in The Lancet by Dr. Peter Gillgren indicates that a 2-cm excision margin is safe and as sufficient as 4-cm margins for the removal of melanomas that are at least 2-mm thick. This study took place in Sweden and involved a total of 936 patients. This study indicates what has been believed for over a decade, that large…

Patients with advanced malignant melanoma taking the experimental drug, vemurafenib, were 63 percent less likely to dies than those who were given chemotherapy.  After three months, patients had a 74 percent reduction in the risk of skin cancer progression and half had tumor shrinkage compared to chemotherapy. This drug is designed to be used in patients…

One always gets a scar after any surgery. Mohs’ Surgery is a method of tumor removal. In most cases, one will receive plastic surgery to repair the defect after the tumor is removed. Therefore, it is essential to choose a surgeon who will repair the defect carefully, as this will have a significant impact on…