Reconstruction in Mohs micrographic surgery

ABSTRACT

Introduction:

Mohs micrographic surgery is used for the excision of skin neoplasms, especially in locally aggressive histological subtypes of basal cell carcinoma, tumor recurrences, or tumors located in critical areas. This technique has a high cure rate and allows maximum preservation of tissues. In this study, we aimed to assess the effectiveness of Mohs micrographic surgery and reconstruction methods.

Methods:

Data from 50 patients who underwent Mohs micrographic surgery to excise skin tumors and reconstruct lost tissue were collected retrospectively. All patients were operated on between January 2005 and December 2013 at the Plastic Surgery Clinic of the Felício Rocho Hospital (Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil). The patients’ age, sex, tumor location, previous treatment, histological type, number of segments analyzed by micrographic surgery, reconstruction method used, and preservation were studied.

Results:

Thirty-one patients (62%) were women and 19 (38%) were men. The mean age was 63.8 years. All lesions were facial, with 66% of cases affecting the nasal area. Presurgery, there were 48 cases (96%) of basal cell carcinoma and 2 cases (4%) of microcystic adnexal carcinoma. Local flaps were the most used reconstruction method. The patients were followed-up for a mean of 48.4 months. We did not observe any cases of tumor recurrence.

Conclusion:

Mohs micrographic surgery was shown to be effective in the treatment of 50 skin neoplasms. We recommend that surgical defects should be repaired by the plastic surgeon.

Keywords:
Mohs surgery; Skin neoplasms; Surgical flaps; Head and neck neoplasia; Plastic surgery