Skin cancer is by far the most common form of cancer in the United States, though fortunately, it’s also one of the most curable. Early detection and treatment can improve your prognosis, and according to the Skin Cancer Foundation, Mohs surgery is the most effective way to treat common skin cancers.
This is no surprise to Jennifer Baron, MD, and her team in San Jose, California. Dr. Baron, a member of the American College of Mohs Surgery since 2007, specializes in this precise method for identifying cancerous tissue when it’s removed from the body using an “excise and inspect” procedure that continues until all abnormal cells are gone.
When you learn about the procedure's success and the combination of skills used by its practitioners, we know you’ll want to learn more when facing a skin cancer diagnosis.
Throughout your Mohs micrographic surgery procedure, Dr. Baron rotates through three clinical roles. She acts as a surgeon while she removes cancerous tissue in thin slices.
After analyzing the excised tissue, Dr. Baron functions as a pathologist, identifying both cancerous and healthy skin tissue and repeating this process until no cancer cells remain.
Finally, Dr. Baron is the reconstructive surgeon who closes and rebuilds the wound created at the skin cancer site. For skin cancer lesions that were not previously treated, Mohs surgery has a success rate of 90%.
The conventional approach to diagnosing and treating skin cancer starts with a small biopsy of skin tissue at the suspected cancer site. This sample is then sent to a lab for analysis. If the lab detects cancer cells, the doctor who took the biopsy recommends treatment. This process can take a week or longer.
Dr. Baron performs Mohs surgery in a single visit outpatient setting. You require only local anesthesia to tolerate the procedure, and the lab work is done right here in Dr. Baron’s office. This means that Dr. Baron focuses on cancerous tissue while affecting healthy skin tissue as little as possible.
With excision focused on cancer tissue, Mohs surgery creates the smallest wound possible. Minor wounds mean small scars. Depending on the particulars of your case, Mohs surgery minimizes damage to the surrounding skin.
Mohs surgery can be time-consuming, so prepare for your visit by choosing comfortable clothing and bringing material to keep you busy or entertained between layer removal and analysis.
As each thin layer is sliced, Dr. Baron examines skin cells under a microscope, focusing on the edges and bottom of the sample. If cancer cells are found, the cycle repeats until no cancerous tissue remains.
The most common types of skin cancer tend to be slow-growing and slow-moving, so Mohs surgery is ideally suited to fast, effective treatment.
Learn more by contacting Jennifer Baron, MD, by phone or online at her San Jose office today.
