“Do I need a Mohs surgeon?” The question to ask if skin cancer is detected.

With the advent of the “sun season”, the public is urged to contact their doctor or dermatologist to schedule a skin screening during National Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month held each May.  By heightening awareness of skin cancer as Americans spend more time outdoors under the summer sun and vacationing at the beach, the American College of Mohs Surgery wants to alert people to the dangers associated with skin cancer.

“Skin cancer is the most common and rapidly increasing form of cancer.  More than 3 million Americans will be diagnosed with the disease this year alone,” said Ross Campbell, M.D., a fellowship-trained Mohs surgeon, board-certified dermatologist, and member of the American College of Mohs Surgery.  “If skin cancer is detected, patients should know that it is not necessarily life threatening or disfiguring.  Melanoma is one of the most difficult cancers to cure if diagnosed late, but one of the easiest when caught early. A skin examination by a trained professional may be the easiest way to save a life.” Effective skin cancer treatments are available, and in complex or advanced cases, Mohs Micrographic Surgery (a precise procedure that provides up to a 99 percent cure rate for certain types of skin cancer) is the treatment of choice.

Mohs Micrographic Surgery is a state-of-the-art skin cancer treatment that relies on the precision and accuracy of a microscope and immediate pathological examination of the tissue sample to trace out and ensure the removal of skin cancer-down to its roots.  This technique ensures that all the diseased tissue is removed, leaving healthy skin intact so that the Mohs surgeon, who is also trained in reconstructive surgery (repairing the wound), will be able to better repair the incision and minimize scarring.

An additional benefit of Mohs surgery is cost-effectiveness.  “In the current health care environment, we need to not only find medically effective treatments, but cost-effective ones as well,” said Dr. Ross Campbell, whose practices are located in Athens, Madison, and Cowles Clinic in Greensboro, Georgia.  “Mohs surgery fits this bill because the skin cancer recurs so rarely after treatment.”

A study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology showed that Mohs surgery is one of the most cost-effective skin cancer treatments available because of the low recurrence rate of tumors treated via the Mohs procedure.  While most skin cancer treatments have a recurrence rate of 10 percent, certain tumors treated with Mohs surgery return only one percent of the time.

“The high cure and low recurrence rates equal fewer surgeries for Mohs patients,” said John Zitelli, M.D., co-author of the study and a former president of the Mohs College.  “Mohs patients also require fewer follow-up examinations than those treated with other methods.”

Because Mohs surgery minimizes scarring, the procedure is particularly advantageous when the cancer is located in a cosmetically sensitive area of the body, or a location where it is important to preserve healthy tissue for maximum function such as eyelids, nose, ears, lips, scalp, fingers toes, or genitals. 

“If a patient is told by a family physician or dermatologist that he or she has skin cancer on the head, face or neck, the patient’s first question should be, ‘Do I need a Mohs surgeon?” said Dr. Ross Campbell.  “The combination of minimally invasive surgery, highest cure rate, and cost effectiveness make Mohs surgery by a fellowship-trained Mohs surgeon the best option for many patients.”

Mohs micrographic surgery is most commonly used for basal and squamous cell carcinomas.  It should be the treatment of choice when:

•the cancer is large;

•the edges of the cancer cannot be clearly defined;

•the cancer is in an area of the body where it is important to preservehealthy tissue for the maximum functional and cosmetic result (eyelid, nose, ears, lips, scalp, fingers toes, or genitals);

•the cancer is likely to recur if treated by other methods;

•prior treatment has failed.

For more information or a pamphlet on Mohs surgery, contact Dr. Ross Campbell at (706) 543-5858, or check out the website  at www.

georgiaderm.com.