The Mohs procedure, named after the physician who created it, precisely identifies and removes an entire tumor while leaving the surrounding healthy tissue intact and unharmed.

“Skin cancer tends to grow with almost spider leg-like roots that tend to come back easily,” said Dr. Chad Tingey, a fellow trained Mohs surgeon at Ogden Clinic. “When it grows back, it’s like weeds under concrete. It’s very annoying and leaves a bigger hole in the skin, and when it’s your nose or cheek or forehead that’s affected, that’s not going to make you very happy, especially when you have to keep going back to have it removed.”

During the procedure, Tingey said, the patient is given a local anesthetic. The surgeon then begins removing the skin cancer layer by layer, checking it under a microscope along the way.

“After we map the roots out we keep going until the cancer is gone. What’s great about this procedure is that not only am I the surgeon, but I’m the pathologist as well,” Tingey said. “I remove a layer of skin and immediately look at it under a microscope, so the results are instant. You treat it once and you’re done.”

Once the surgeon no longer sees any cancer, the procedure is finished.

It has a cure rate of nearly 100 percent, Tingey said. There’s no risk of being put under general anesthesia and the procedure is completed within two to four hours.

Mohs procedure, also known as chemosurgery, was created by Dr. Fredric E. Mohs. Tingey said the physician was treating farmers in Wisconsin who kept getting recurrent cancer after having the traditional wide, local excision treatment.

The procedure treats all forms of skin cancer, including basal and squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. Most people who have the procedure have cancer in what Tingey calls the “high real estate” areas of the body, which includes the face, hands, genitals and feet.

“There’s not a lot of skin in those areas, so it’s important to spare as much tissue as possible,” he said. “People with aggressive and recurrent cancers also do well with this procedure.

“It’s covered by insurance and saves money in the long run, because you don’t have to keep going back, you aren’t in an operating room and you don’t have to be given general anesthesia.”

According to the Utah Department of Health, the state has the second highest rate of melanoma skin cancer in the country. In addition, this year, more than 600 Utahns will develop skin cancer.

“The risk of melanoma also increases by overexposure to the sun and the use of indoor tanning beds,” said Teresa Garrett, division director, UDOH Disease Control and Prevention. “There are simple ways to protect yourself and your children from skin cancer, like wearing sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher, wearing a wide-brim hat, sunglasses, long shorts or pants and shirts with sleeves, and finding shade when you spend time outdoors.”

Tingey said it’s important for people to check themselves for any signs of the disease and not to wait before having it looked at by a doctor.

“People will come in and tell me they’ve had a sore on their cheek that won’t go away,” he said. “I’ll ask them how long they’ve had the sore and they’ll tell me about a year. That’s too long to wait to go to the doctor. When you wait, it just becomes a bigger issue.”

Skin cancer warning signs

Source: skincancer.org and Utah Department of Health