Using Skin Reconstruction After Mohs Surgery

Added on 13th May 2020

Mohs surgery to treat skin cancer

Unfortunately, skin cancer continues to rise for many patients. Mohs surgery, also known as Mohs micrographic surgery, is a common procedure that you’d go through if you’re diagnosed with skin cancer.

It is a precise surgical technique used to treat skin cancer. During the procedure, thin layers of your cancer-containing skin are progressively removed and examined until only cancer-free tissue remains. This often means that removal of the skin leaves a defect that needs reconstructing. Skin reconstruction after Mohs surgery is how this can be achieved.

What are the different techniques available for skin reconstruction after Mohs surgery?

Local Flap

Skin cancer tends to be found most commonly in the face. In the first case study, you can see a patient who has undergone Mohs surgery in their nose. As a result, a defect has occurred on the bridge of the nose.

A local flap procedure involves the restructuring of the nose using local tissues around the face. The local tissue will have its own blood supply and the general area will have similar qualities to that of where the defect has taken place.

By using local tissue, this can help to provide the defect with an aesthetically pleasing result and contour.

Skin Graft

Another way that you can reconstruct skin is the use of a skin graft. This is where your surgeon will remove skin from a different area of the face, such as from behind the ear, to cover up the defect.

As it’s taken from a different area of the body, this will likely provide a slight contour defect of the repaired area. However, the quality of the skin will be similar and a good aesthetic result can be obtained.

Split Thickness Skin Grafts

For defects that are slightly larger and deeper in size, a more suitable skin reconstruction after Mohs surgery will be a split thickness skin graft. This is where skin is taken from a larger part of the body, such as the thigh, to make up the reconstruction.

This is another surgery that often provides a less appealing aesthetic result, but the method is more suitable to such cases. It will allow the skin to contract and make the defect far less visible that it was previously.

Direct incision

The final method that can be used is treating the defect directly. This is where the tissue can be manipulated and closed directly, with an example shown in the final image in the video. This is particularly useful with scarring where it can be treated directly.