title: Pitfalls of Mohs micrographic surgery.
abstract: This article discusses some of the pitfalls and disadvantages of Mohs micrographic surgery for the excision of skin cancer. These include (1) frozen section quality; (2) interpretation of frozen sections; (3) holes in fragmented tissue margins; (4) tissue orientation problems; (5) excessively narrow or wide margins; (6) transection of the tumor itself; (7) problems with multifocal tumor; and (8) the tedious, time-consuming nature of the procedure. Despite these problems, the importance of the procedure in the treatment of cutaneous neoplasms should not be underestimated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Texas Medical School, Houston 77030.
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Rapini
mesh_terms: D005629:Frozen Sections; D006801:Humans; D008722:Methods; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*