Wound care after Mohs’s skin cancer surgery is customized to individual patient needs. If you have a cancerous lesion removed with this operative treatment method, your recovery will be simpler than you may think.
Let’s learn more about this surgery and where you can go for skin cancer treatment in Coral Gables, FL.
What Does Mohs Surgery Do?
Mohs micrographic surgery is an outpatient operative procedure that removes skin cancer from its more prevalent locations–the face, arms, legs, and other areas exposed to the sun. Known for its tissue-sparing methodology, the Mohs technique removes squamous cells, basal cells, or malignant melanoma skin cancers in thin layers. As the surgeon removes each layer, he biopsies it at an on-site lab. Once tissue specimens are clear of cancer, the physician closes the surgical wound using customized reconstructive methods.
Mohs surgery for skin cancer is highly accurate and tissue-sparing because the doctor actually maps the lesion before removing it layer by layer. As a result, patients experience less pain, fewer stitches, less scarring, and quick recovery times.
Also, Mohs micrographic surgery cure rates are up to 99 percent effective for cancers that are being treated for the first time. Cure rates are up to 95 percent for cancers that have been treated before.
What Does Wound Care Look Like After Mohs Surgery?
Many of our patients leave our state-of-the-art surgery center with few to no sutures and a simple compression bandage in place. Others do have stitches plus a bandage. It mostly depends on what the doctor and patient decide regarding reconstruction and other health needs. Most everyone has some degree of redness, bruising, and swelling for one to two weeks afterward.
There is some common wound care all patients must observe after Mohs surgery, including:
- Keeping the bandage (if you have one) clean and dry for a full 24 hours
- Avoiding exercise, particularly lifting, for 24 or more hours as your doctor recommends (no running or heavy lifting)
- Avoiding sun exposure for a period of days to weeks as the surgical site heals
- Notifying the provider right away about signs of infection, including extreme redness, which expands over time, thick drainage, lymph node prominence near the incision site, and pain is not helped with over-the-counter analgesics
As with any surgical scar, the site will take about a year to achieve full aesthetic effects. However, most Mohs patients are pleased with their results and appearance.
The Finest in MOHS Surgery and Skin Cancer Care in Miami
If you are searching for the best skin cancer care, visit us at Dermatology & Skin Cancer Center. Dr. TJ Guiffrida and his team deliver dermatology and skin cancer treatments with extreme care, producing excellent results for patients of all ages.
To know more about Mohs surgery, call us today at (305) 461-2000 or request your appointment online.
