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Skin Cancer & Moh's Surgery
If you have recently been diagnosed with skin cancer, you are not alone.
Over one million people are diagnosed with skin cancer in the U.S. each year, making it the most common type of cancer. One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in his or her lifetime. Fortunately, it is also one of the most treatable forms of cancer.
Patients often ask, “What should I be looking for if I suspect a skin cancer?”. The following signs should be promptly investigated: a new skin growth that does not disappear in four to six weeks; any skin lesion that continues to grow and turns red, brown, black or is multicolored; a mole, birthmark or beauty mark that increases in size, changes color or texture or becomes irregular in outline; an open sore or wound that refuses to heal, persists for more than four weeks or heals and later reopens; any skin spot or growth that continues to itch, hurt, crust over, form a scab, becomes a sore or bleeds for several weeks.
Moh's Micrographic surgery performed by a fellowship-trained surgeon is an advanced treatment for complex cancers that has been developed and refined over the last 70 years. It offers the highest cure rate, even if the cancer has been previously treated by another method. The benefit of the Moh's surgeon being trained in pathology is that it allows the surgeon to immediately examine the tumor to make sure all diseased tissue is removed. Other surgical techniques require the tumor to be removed, the wound closed, and the tumor sent to a pathologist to determine if all the cancer was completely removed. The Moh's procedure removes that wait and the uncertainty that more surgery may have to be done if all of the cancer is not removed.
Fellowship-trained Moh's surgeons have extensive experience in the reconstruction of the wound caused by removing the tumor. Their advanced training means patients will not need to see another reconstructive or plastic surgeon in most cases.
At Georgia Skin Cancer & Aesthetic Dermatology you can be assured of excellence. Dr. Campbell will provide care with compassion and strive to provide the most aesthetically pleasing outcome achievable.
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