If you have a skin cancer that you’re worried about (most common places include the head and neck), a Westside Private Dermatologist qualified in Mohs Micrographic Surgery can remove the skin cancer in one day with a 99% success rate. Only very rarely can a skin cancer not be removed entirely (less than 1%), in which case further surgery or radiotherapy may be recommended to you.

Our Dermatologists, specially trained in Mohs Micrographic Surgery, will draw marks around your lesion and inject a local anaesthetic. Then, using a scalpel, they will remove the thinnest possible layer of cancerous tissue, sparing the surrounding healthy tissue. Once you have been bandaged, you will be taken to a recovery area.

While you rest in recovery, a technician will process the tumour in our on-site laboratory. Your Dermatologist, accredited in Mohs Surgery, will also examine the lesion under a microscope. If they find remaining cancer cells, you’ll be called back into the operating room. If not, the surgeon will let you know that the cancerous cells have successfully been removed.

Depending on the size of the excision, the wound can heal naturally, or the surgeon will close the surgical site with a linear repair (side-to-side stitching), or larger areas may require a skin graft or skin flap. On occasion, our Dermatologists qualified in Mohs Surgery at Westside Private Hospital elect a Plastic Surgeon to complete more complex skin closures to achieve the most optimal results for patients. However, most scars from Mohs Surgery are often smaller and less visible than routine excisional surgery.