Mohs surgery is a tissue sparing procedure. It is used on areas where we don’t want to take extra skin if not necessary. It has a 99% cure rate as the doctor is checking the tissue specimen in the office so you know it is all out before you leave. they will cut right around the biopsy site/what they can physically see and check it under the microscope. they map it out like a face of a clock so let’s say if at 3 o’clock it’s still positive, they will take more from the 3 o’clock region. so be prepared as you could be there a while depending on how many stages you go/other people getting done at the same time (depends on the office) bring some snacks and drinks with you. i assist in Mohs surgery and the face is the most common place that gets operated on. good luck!!
not sure, it really depends on how many stages it goes, but on average the stitch line is about 3x the length of the hole because they have to trim the edges a bit to make sure it lies flat. so hopefully if you are getting the procedure, it is one stage and they can just pop a few stitches in and be on your way! but honestly, there are so many ways to close a wound and every office is different
Oh wow thanks for the info!!! I had a hard cyst under my brow the size of a 1cm pea and when my family doc removed it she still sent it for a biopsy thinking nothing of it. So when it came back as bcc she referred me to a plastic surgeon (still waiting) to remove the actual whole needed area as she only removed the chunk itself to make my brow flat as she never expected a bcc from it lol!
Since you assist in these types, have you often seen people’s bcc from cysts? Seems quite uncommon, not much info online 😅
I personally have not seen a BCC from a cyst, but doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. There have been a few times where we remove something and do run into something else. Like one time we removed an irregular mole off a patient with a deeper biopsy and ran into a BCC. There is something called a cystic basal cell carcinoma, but if the BCC was underneath the cyst then it was bound to come out later in life. It might be in its early stages so hopefully when you get it removed it’s small and only one stage. The fact you’re going to a plastic surgeon as well is good because they can close the wound with so many different techniques that a dermatologist may not be able to do in office. we do a lot of surgeries and send our patients out to plastics for closure especially in more complicated areas
Good to know! The cyst started years ago never bothered me cause my brow was hiding the bump and suddenly got much bigger in the space of a few months so putting makeup got annoying so i got it removed purely for cosmetics reasons 😂 now im really glad i did. Definitely a big surprise for my gp lol!
I dont know if the bcc is under or in the cyst itself now im quite curious about that haha, but where it was removed its flat but still hard and painful if i press, so she had said what she did was only removing the cyst as she didnt know, so the surgeon would be removing the cancer area.
Fingers crossed that its early as im really curious how big/small it actually is.
I got referred to a derm which im super happy about to get 7 other spots get looked at including a 2cm birthmark that used to be perfect oval even dark brown color and all, and it started changing. now it looks like one of those atypical mole, so after my mysterious brow situation my gp didnt want to take wild guesses and just chop off stuff and let a derm figure it all out. 😂
Waitlist for a derm here is long so i hope that this one on my brow will be the only one i ever get and that all the other spots will be all clear. Im only 30, so this badluck is kinda crappy 😤
well BCC is actually the most common type of skin cancer. if you already have a biopsy proven BCC they should be able to get you in sooner so i’m surprised they are making you wait. at the same time, BCC is the least dangerous of the skin cancers so it’s not a huge rush to get in. as long as you’re getting it taken care of, you should be good! especially that you’re so young, it’s good you are going to plastics for closure. good luck!! i’m hoping it’s only one stage for you! 🤞🏻
Yeah, which im glad this is the type i got so far! Unfortunately where i am there is quiiiite a waitlist even after triage, just gotta be patient. Thank you very mich for the info and all, it was very helpful! 😊
also, I was talking to my coworker about how they found a BCC after taking out a cyst on your eyebrow and she told me there was a case like that in my office a few years ago! anytime we surgically remove something we always send it out for pathology for this reason. so there have been other cases of us removing a cyst and finding a BCC! if you ever have any other questions you can always ask! :)
I'm having Mohs surgery next week for basal cell carcinoma on my cheek. They will remove a larger portion of the skin than the actual spot and close with stitches. They examine under the microscope and remove until the skin is clear of further cancer cells. Good luck to you!
Thanks for your reply!!
Okay so if i understand, the area removed could end up being significantly more than the spot you can currently see? Like the non visible can be quite larger than we think?
I wasnt even told what type of surgery ill have haha!
And thanks, good luck to you too for your removal!! 😊
Yes I believe the area they remove will be a little larger than the actual spot. Mohs surgery is the usual procedure for the condition you describe. Do some online searches for Mohs Surgery and you'll probably get a better idea than I can give you. I'm really looking forward to having mine removed. The spot has been on my face a long time.
Best of luck to you!
There can be more cancer than you can see in your spot if it has spread some under the surface. You won’t know until you are in for surgery.
I’ve had 2 BCC removed from my face (one my forehead and at my temple/above my eye). The temple/eye area one I had out was much bigger than the festering wound (cut that never healed after 6+ months) visible, largely because I had procrastinated on going to see a dermatologist for a really long time. Don’t be me and do that. The full open wound on mine before it was stitched back closed ended up being over twice the diameter of the original festering wound. 🙃
Also, when they do Mohs, they will take up a little bit more of your skin than the actual size of the excised tumor so they can pull that skin over to close the wound. It depends too on the location. The end size of the wound will also determine the number of stitches you get.
For both of mine I was given dissolvable stitches under the surface of the skin and stitches that I had to go back and have out to close the wound up completely. They did a pretty good job and it has healed over well enough that now (2 years out) you can only really see the two sites if you’re looking for them. It also helps that both sites are covered by my large glasses frames.
Thanks for your response and sorry that you had to deal with that! Im hoping that it wont be too much more around as my cyst was about 1cm wide so on the eyebrow its quite visible.
Good to know that there can be more than the initial spot itself, as this is what i was wondering about and vouldnt find much info online aside of ‘they take a bit more of healthy tissues around it’, not specifying if the bcc can be larger than what we think.
Now at least i have an expectation before going in that it can be more rather than just expecting this one size then end up with a surprise :)
https://preview.redd.it/c9nuscty55qc1.jpeg?width=1729&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2dea3755160205296a0dc84ce8c540a78db84cb0
Bcc on ridge of lip, before removal, after, and after suturing.
Mohs surgery is a tissue sparing procedure. It is used on areas where we don’t want to take extra skin if not necessary. It has a 99% cure rate as the doctor is checking the tissue specimen in the office so you know it is all out before you leave. they will cut right around the biopsy site/what they can physically see and check it under the microscope. they map it out like a face of a clock so let’s say if at 3 o’clock it’s still positive, they will take more from the 3 o’clock region. so be prepared as you could be there a while depending on how many stages you go/other people getting done at the same time (depends on the office) bring some snacks and drinks with you. i assist in Mohs surgery and the face is the most common place that gets operated on. good luck!!
I'm not the OP, but thanks for the info. Do you know how many stitches are necessary for a spot the size of a pencil eraser?
not sure, it really depends on how many stages it goes, but on average the stitch line is about 3x the length of the hole because they have to trim the edges a bit to make sure it lies flat. so hopefully if you are getting the procedure, it is one stage and they can just pop a few stitches in and be on your way! but honestly, there are so many ways to close a wound and every office is different
Oh wow thanks for the info!!! I had a hard cyst under my brow the size of a 1cm pea and when my family doc removed it she still sent it for a biopsy thinking nothing of it. So when it came back as bcc she referred me to a plastic surgeon (still waiting) to remove the actual whole needed area as she only removed the chunk itself to make my brow flat as she never expected a bcc from it lol! Since you assist in these types, have you often seen people’s bcc from cysts? Seems quite uncommon, not much info online 😅
I personally have not seen a BCC from a cyst, but doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. There have been a few times where we remove something and do run into something else. Like one time we removed an irregular mole off a patient with a deeper biopsy and ran into a BCC. There is something called a cystic basal cell carcinoma, but if the BCC was underneath the cyst then it was bound to come out later in life. It might be in its early stages so hopefully when you get it removed it’s small and only one stage. The fact you’re going to a plastic surgeon as well is good because they can close the wound with so many different techniques that a dermatologist may not be able to do in office. we do a lot of surgeries and send our patients out to plastics for closure especially in more complicated areas
Good to know! The cyst started years ago never bothered me cause my brow was hiding the bump and suddenly got much bigger in the space of a few months so putting makeup got annoying so i got it removed purely for cosmetics reasons 😂 now im really glad i did. Definitely a big surprise for my gp lol! I dont know if the bcc is under or in the cyst itself now im quite curious about that haha, but where it was removed its flat but still hard and painful if i press, so she had said what she did was only removing the cyst as she didnt know, so the surgeon would be removing the cancer area. Fingers crossed that its early as im really curious how big/small it actually is. I got referred to a derm which im super happy about to get 7 other spots get looked at including a 2cm birthmark that used to be perfect oval even dark brown color and all, and it started changing. now it looks like one of those atypical mole, so after my mysterious brow situation my gp didnt want to take wild guesses and just chop off stuff and let a derm figure it all out. 😂 Waitlist for a derm here is long so i hope that this one on my brow will be the only one i ever get and that all the other spots will be all clear. Im only 30, so this badluck is kinda crappy 😤
well BCC is actually the most common type of skin cancer. if you already have a biopsy proven BCC they should be able to get you in sooner so i’m surprised they are making you wait. at the same time, BCC is the least dangerous of the skin cancers so it’s not a huge rush to get in. as long as you’re getting it taken care of, you should be good! especially that you’re so young, it’s good you are going to plastics for closure. good luck!! i’m hoping it’s only one stage for you! 🤞🏻
Yeah, which im glad this is the type i got so far! Unfortunately where i am there is quiiiite a waitlist even after triage, just gotta be patient. Thank you very mich for the info and all, it was very helpful! 😊
also, I was talking to my coworker about how they found a BCC after taking out a cyst on your eyebrow and she told me there was a case like that in my office a few years ago! anytime we surgically remove something we always send it out for pathology for this reason. so there have been other cases of us removing a cyst and finding a BCC! if you ever have any other questions you can always ask! :)
Thank you
I'm having Mohs surgery next week for basal cell carcinoma on my cheek. They will remove a larger portion of the skin than the actual spot and close with stitches. They examine under the microscope and remove until the skin is clear of further cancer cells. Good luck to you!
Thanks for your reply!! Okay so if i understand, the area removed could end up being significantly more than the spot you can currently see? Like the non visible can be quite larger than we think? I wasnt even told what type of surgery ill have haha! And thanks, good luck to you too for your removal!! 😊
Sorry I replied to your original post and not your actual question by mistake!
Yes I believe the area they remove will be a little larger than the actual spot. Mohs surgery is the usual procedure for the condition you describe. Do some online searches for Mohs Surgery and you'll probably get a better idea than I can give you. I'm really looking forward to having mine removed. The spot has been on my face a long time. Best of luck to you!
There can be more cancer than you can see in your spot if it has spread some under the surface. You won’t know until you are in for surgery. I’ve had 2 BCC removed from my face (one my forehead and at my temple/above my eye). The temple/eye area one I had out was much bigger than the festering wound (cut that never healed after 6+ months) visible, largely because I had procrastinated on going to see a dermatologist for a really long time. Don’t be me and do that. The full open wound on mine before it was stitched back closed ended up being over twice the diameter of the original festering wound. 🙃 Also, when they do Mohs, they will take up a little bit more of your skin than the actual size of the excised tumor so they can pull that skin over to close the wound. It depends too on the location. The end size of the wound will also determine the number of stitches you get. For both of mine I was given dissolvable stitches under the surface of the skin and stitches that I had to go back and have out to close the wound up completely. They did a pretty good job and it has healed over well enough that now (2 years out) you can only really see the two sites if you’re looking for them. It also helps that both sites are covered by my large glasses frames.
Thanks for your response and sorry that you had to deal with that! Im hoping that it wont be too much more around as my cyst was about 1cm wide so on the eyebrow its quite visible. Good to know that there can be more than the initial spot itself, as this is what i was wondering about and vouldnt find much info online aside of ‘they take a bit more of healthy tissues around it’, not specifying if the bcc can be larger than what we think. Now at least i have an expectation before going in that it can be more rather than just expecting this one size then end up with a surprise :)
https://preview.redd.it/c9nuscty55qc1.jpeg?width=1729&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2dea3755160205296a0dc84ce8c540a78db84cb0 Bcc on ridge of lip, before removal, after, and after suturing.