Skin Cancer Reconstruction: What to Expect After Mohs Repair

If you have skin cancer, Mohs surgery gives you a highly effective way to remove it while preserving as much of your healthy skin as possible. Ali Hendi, MD, and Kristina Lim, DO, at Dr. Hendi & Associates in Chevy Chase, Maryland, begin this multi-step procedure by removing the visible area of skin cancer, along with a small margin of tissue around it.

Then, we look at that sample under a microscope. If we can confirm that we have a border of healthy tissue all the way around, we can be almost certain that we’ve removed all the skin cancer. 

If we still see cancerous cells at the edges, we repeat the process, taking a little bit more. We continue doing that until we have a healthy margin all the way around. In this way, Mohs surgery allows us to eliminate cancerous cells while minimizing the amount of healthy skin we have to touch. Still, you might need or want reconstruction afterward. 

With expertise in advanced surgical care, our team can help with that. We explore reconstruction options with people throughout the greater Washington, DC, area, northern Virginia, and the eastern shore of Maryland. 

First, decide if you need and want reconstruction

Not all Mohs surgery requires reconstruction afterward. In some cases, especially when we only need to repeat the process once or twice, the area will heal naturally. Other times, it needs stitches, but they result in minimal scarring.

As the treatment area expands, reconstruction frequently comes into play. Sometimes, the surgery site is large enough that we need skin from another area to close it. 

At that point, we can have the reconstruction conversation with you. This allows us to determine your goals for how the area will look. 

The placement of the surgery site also makes a difference. If it’s somewhere less visible, like your leg or arm, you might not care as much about reconstruction. 

If you’re getting Mohs surgery on your face, though, you probably want to do what you can to preserve your appearance. Fortunately, facial reconstruction after Mohs is an extensive field with many available techniques. 

The most common forms of reconstruction: Flaps and grafts

As part of our advanced surgical care services, Dr. Hendi and Dr. Lim can perform your reconstruction at our office. Most frequently, we use either a skin graft or the skin flap technique.

With a skin graft, we take skin from another area (e.g., your buttocks) to close the surgical site. More commonly, though, we use the flap technique. That means we take a flap of skin from near the surgery site and reposition it to cover the area. 

This helps you get a tone and texture match. As an added benefit, because a part of the flap remains attached, it maintains its blood supply. That helps optimize how the area looks after it heals. 

We can talk through your reconstruction options before your Mohs procedure. To schedule time with our team, call our office at 301-986-1006 or book your appointment online today.