What you must ask your surgeon

Are you a dermatologist?

The vast majority of trained Mohs surgeons are board certified dermatologists with training in Mohs surgery

Do you have a one-year accredited fellowship?

Most Mohs surgeons now should have undertaken a 12 month fellowhip in Mohs surgery and procedural dermatology in an accreditted training centre after completing their dermatology residency.  Those who qualified over 8 years ago may have had less formal training but Mohs will be expected to be the main part of their job and their experience in this field may compensate.

Do you analyse the cancer yourself /"Do you read your own pathology slides"?

Mohs surgeons remove tumours, mark them map them to your body site and analyse the pathology themselves.  This is the true Mohs technique and this is how it is performed in all the leading centres to acheive the highest cure rates.  Some European countries such as France do not permit non-pathologists to carry out pathological examinations for historical and political reasons. Because of this the Mohs technique is not practiced there. Dermatologists in these countries do carry out micrographic surgery in conjunction with a pathologist but this is not the same as Mohs.  Where dermatologists are permitted by law to carry out their own pathology they must do so if they are to call themselves Mohs surgeons.

How many cases do you perform per year?

Mohs surgeons are required to perform a certain number of cases per year to maintain their accreditation.