For more of the day, for more of the year, and from more directly overhead, residents of Atlanta get more of the sun than our neighbors up north. From this one simple, yet astronomical fact stems the first thing you should know about Mohs surgery in Atlanta. We are more likely here to benefit from it.
Living with even greater risk of skin cancer than elsewhere – and nationally, the likelihood is one in five that a person will develop it – the means of removing a cancerous skin growth without harming the healthy tissue around it is good news anywhere, especially in Atlanta.
Why It is Good News
Mohs surgery in Atlanta offers the advantages of single-visit, outpatient surgery, local anesthesia, and lab work for progressive diagnosis that is done in real time and on site. In the Mohs procedure, thin layers of cancer-containing cells are progressively removed and examined until only cancer-free tissue remains.
Considered the most effective technique for treating common skin cancers, Mohs surgery is credited with a 99% rate of cure for cancers that have not been treated before, and a 94% cure rate for skin cancer that has recurred after previous treatment. One reason for its effectiveness at MetroDerm is that the surgery, the analysis, and the cosmetic reconstruction are in the hands of a highly trained board-certified dermatologist and Mohs surgeon – and in one procedure. Your MetroDerm Mohs surgeon examines 100% of the tumor margins, spares healthy tissue, and leaves the smallest scar possible.
In Atlanta, Mohs surgery is done in stages – and in one visit. After removing a layer of tissue, your surgeon examines it under a microscope in an on-site lab. If any cancer cells remain, your surgeon knows the exact area and removes another layer of tissue from that precise location. As much healthy tissue as possible is spared, and your surgeon repeats the process until no cancer cells remain.
Especially in Most Cases
Mohs surgery is particularly well suited for treating the most commonly occurring forms of skin cancer, such as basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, for which it is considered the gold standard of treatment. The advantages of Mohs surgery are especially appropriate for cosmetically conspicuous and functionally critical areas around the eyes, nose, lips, ears, scalp, fingers, toes, or genitals. Mohs is recommended for carcinomas that are large, aggressive, growing rapidly, or that have indistinct edges.
Mohs surgery enables your surgeon to verify that all cancer cells have been removed at the time of surgery, increasing the likelihood of a cure, and reducing the need for additional treatments or follow-on surgery, compared with standard excision surgery. As a precision technique, Mohs surgery does minimal damage to the surrounding healthy tissue.
Helping Face the Possibilities
We notice an additional, overall benefit, over and above the physical and clinical advantages of Mohs surgery. By offering such a precise and effective treatment, Mohs surgery helps people face up to the possibilities and practice the precautions that help reduce the occurrence of skin cancer in the first place. By bringing the subject even more into the open, one of the threats of cancer – its stealth and secrecy – is dispelled. When folks feel better even discussing the risks of skin cancer, then prevention and treatment gain the benefits of awareness and time.
If you would like to learn more about what Mohs surgery can mean for folks in Atlanta, just give us a call. We look forward to the chance to get acquainted and share the good news.