Frederick Mohs pioneered a technique for excising cutaneous tumors with immediate analysis of a continuous margin mapped to the clinical site. Mohs surgery offers superior cure rates compared with standard excision or destructive techniques, spares uninvolved tissue, and allows for reconstruction at the time of excision.
Mohs surgery may be considered for any continuous tumor, but is specifically indicated for lesions larger than 2 cm, lesions with ill-defined clinical borders, lesions with aggressive histologic subtypes, recurrent lesions, and lesions on or near the eye, nose, ear, mouth, hair-bearing scalp, or chronic ulcers. Patients with chronic immunosuppression or genetic tumor syndromes may also benefit from Mohs surgery compared to standard excision.4