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Basal Cell Carcinoma pp 121–145Cite as

Mohs Micrographic Surgery for the Treatment of Basal Cell Carcinoma

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Abstract

Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS)is a surgical method developed by Dr. Frederic Mohs while he was still a trainee at the University of Wisconsin in the 1930s. Dr. Mohs utilized zinc chloride paste for tissue fixation in vivo, in combination with stibnite and bloodroot powder, so that the cytological features of the excised specimen were preserved for histologic evaluation. Because chemical fixation was utilized, he named it “chemosurgery.” One day after tissue fixation, Dr. Mohs would excise the tumor with narrow margins and manipulate the tissue so that the deep and peripheral margins of the specimen were sectioned in a single horizontal plane.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Dermatology, Houston, TX, USA

    Leon Chen

  2. University of Texas McGovern Medical School at Houston, Department of Dermatology, Houston, TX, USA

    Leon Chen

  3. Texas Surgical Dermatology PA, Spring, TX, USA

    Tri H. Nguyen

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  1. Leon Chen
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Departments of Dermatology and Head and Neck Surgery, Mohs Surgery Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Michael R. Migden

  2. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Dermatology, Houston, TX, USA

    Leon Chen

  3. University of Texas McGovern Medical School at Houston, Department of Dermatology, Houston, TX, USA

    Sirunya Silapunt

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Chen, L., Nguyen, T.H. (2020). Mohs Micrographic Surgery for the Treatment of Basal Cell Carcinoma. In: Migden, M., Chen, L., Silapunt, S. (eds) Basal Cell Carcinoma. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26887-9_7

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