Mohs skin cancer surgery is usually performed as a day case procedure in the clinic, which means there is no need to stay in the hospital overnight. A Mohs micrographic surgery unit will have an on-site surgical suite/s and a laboratory for microscopic examination of tissue.

We use local anaesthetic around the target area, which means you will be awake during the entire procedure. The use of local anaesthetic versus general anaesthetic provides numerous benefits, including preventing a lengthy recovery and possible side effects from the general anaesthetic. You are completely numb in the area of the surgery, though, so the procedure is painless after the initial injections have been administered.

1. Your skin is numbed using a local anaesthetic injection.
2. We then remove visible cancer and the removed tissue is examined under a microscope to see if there are any cancerous cells remaining on the skin or if it has all been removed. This takes around 45-60 minutes. We will ask you to sit in the recovery area while you are waiting.
3. If there is any cancer remaining, we will bring you back into the theatre and the surgeon will precisely remove some more tissue and then once more check it under a microscope.
4. We repeat this cycle until all of the cancer has been fully removed.

You will have a dressing over your wound that will stay in place for 2 – 7 days. Most patients return to the Dermatology Department to have their sutures removed one week later. In most cases, you will feel quite well after 48 hours though may not wish to return to work for 1 week once we remove the sutures. We perform the operation under local anaesthetic, as a result, you may feel quite tired afterwards and you should plan a more restful 2 days or so after surgery.

If you smoke you should avoid smoking for at least 3-4 days before and after surgery as smoking slows down the wound healing process. Similarly, try and avoid alcohol for 3 – 4 days before and after surgery as this can make your wound bleed more.