Mohs micrographic surgery is a specialized surgical technique for removing skin cancer. It was developed in the 1930’s by its originator, Frederic E. Mohs, MD and has been refined into the most effective treatment for skin cancer to date. Mohs is performed by a dermatologist that is trained in surgery, pathology, and reconstruction who has also completed at least one additional fellowship year. At Dermatology Associates of Western Connecticut, Dr. Kimberly Eickhorst is our staff Mohs Surgeon, performing the procedure in our state-of-the-art Mohs suite in our Newtown office. Dr. Eickhorst and her Mohs team are dedicated to making your experience as convenient and positive as possible and go the extra mile to ensure that you are comfortable before, during, and after your surgery.

The Mohs procedure is often called a “tissue-sparing” procedure. This is because it involves systematically removing small sections of the skin cancer at a time and analyzing it under the microscope. Once the tissue is determined to be cancer-free (also known as having clear margins), the surgeon will close and reconstruct the surgical site for the best cosmetic and functional outcome, with the smallest possible scar.

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Because of the highly specialized technique and careful examination of each section of skin tissue, Mohs has a 99% success rate, the highest of all skin cancer treatments. Other benefits of the procedure are that is preserves healthy tissue by only removing small sections at a time. Mohs is an outpatient procedure and is safely performed only under local anesthesia. It is also a cost-effective treatment; there are no operating room or anesthesiology fees, and the high cure rate means less recurrence of skin cancer and fewer return visits.