Mohs surgery provides an innovative way to remove skin cancer and reduce scarring. Your West Palm Beach FL dermatologists, Drs. Barry Kuttner and Kathleen Herne offer the surgery at Integrated Dermatology of West Palm Beach.

How does Mohs surgery West Palm Beach work?

The changes to your skin may look fairly minor at first glance if you have squamous or basal cell skin cancer or melanoma. Unfortunately, cancerous cells may have invaded the deeper layers of skin and tissue under that small bump or sore.

Treating skin cancer used to involve removing a significant amount of skin, tissue, and even muscle in some cases, to ensure that all of the cancerous cells were removed. Mohs surgery offers a less invasive approach to traditional skin cancer surgery. (In some cases, traditional surgery may still be the better option.)

During your treatment at the Mohs surgery West Palm Beach dermatology office, your skin doctor numbs the area, then removes a single layer of skin. You then return to the waiting room while the layer is examined under a microscope. If cancerous cells are found, another layer of skin will be removed. Skin is removed from one layer at a time until there are no more cancerous cells.

What are the advantages of Mohs surgery?

Removing the skin layer by layer offers these advantages:

• Ensures that all cancerous cells are removed
• Minimizes healthy tissue loss
• Reduces scarring
• Only requires local anesthetic
• Speeds healing
• Improves the cure rate

When is the surgery recommended?

Mohs surgery West Palm Beach is often used to treat basal and squamous cell cancers, but may also be an option for melanoma treatment. Your dermatologist or physician assistant may recommend that surgery if you have skin cancer on your face, head, neck, hands, feet, or genitals.

What happens after Mohs surgery?

You may experience a little redness, itching, or swelling following surgery. Pain is usually minimal and can be controlled with over-the-counter pain medication. Your skin doctor will give you instructions regarding how to care for the wound and reduce scarring.

Is Mohs surgery right for you? Call Integrated Dermatology of West Palm Beach dermatologists in West Palm Beach FL, Drs. Barry Kuttner and Kathleen Herne at (561) 964-6664 to schedule an appointment.