Dermatologists do more skin surgeries by far than any other specialty, and as skin cancer experts, they are the only physicians that can be trained in Mohs Surgery. Mohs Surgery, considered the ‘gold standard’ in skin cancer treatment, involves removing cancer in stages that begin with a saucer-like piece of skin that includes the tumor plus a small margin of surrounding skin. The tissue is mapped, inked, and processed onto slides for microscopic examination in such a way that 100% of the surgical margin can be determined. If skin cancer cells are seen in the removed tissue, another stage is removed in the exact location, leaving normal skin intact. By this method, as many non-cancerous skin cells as possible are saved.
