Micrographic surgery for the microscopically controlled excision of eyelid cancers
F. E. Mohs
Because it allows for the total microscopic control of excision,
micrographic surgery is a solution to the problem of determining the exact
extent of cancers of the eyelids. The control of excision is achieved by
removing successive layers of the affected tissues and microscopically
examining the entire undersurface of each layer by the systematic use of
frozen sections. The reliability of the method is attested by the five-year
cure rates of 99% in 1,773 cases of basal cell carcinoma and of 98.1% in
213 cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the eyelids. Also important is the
minimal removal of uninvaded tissue that is feasible because of the precise
localization and selective removal of the clinically unpredictable
cancerous outgrowths. This saving of normal tissue permits some innovative
techniques of wound management.
