Because it can be easy to miss a cancerous skin lesion, Dr. Yagoda highly recommends getting a skin cancer screening yearly, or sooner if you are at high risk.
Skin cancers in certain areas of the face can be more complicated to treat than other skin cancers on the body because they can be deceiving. What looks like a superficial skin cancer might actually be very deep because these seemingly small skin lesions end up deeply invading into the planes of fusion of two facial bones, i.e. the nose with cheek, nose with upper lip, or the nose with the eye. As a result, skin growths on the nose that appear to be small can cause significant destruction of the soft tissues and cartilage below it. For cancers on the skin of the face, especially the nose, MOHs surgery may be necessary.
Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS/MOHS) is a skin-sparing surgical technique used to remove cancerous lesions in certain areas of the face. Although MOHs surgery can be quite time-consuming, it offers the lowest recurrence rate of malignancies and preserves more healthy tissue than other methods.
Achieving an aesthetically pleasing repair on the nose after MOHs surgery for skin cancer can be quite difficult even in the best surgeon’s hands. Dr. Yagoda developed the 3-D S.C.O.R.E. Technique to create inconspicuous and elegant cosmetic results. With this technique, Dr. Yagoda employs 3-D visualization to optimally mobilize surrounding healthy tissue along natural skin tension lines, without disrupting facial subunits. This allows her to achieve a cosmetic endpoint that neither deforms nor distorts the nose.
3-D S.C.O.R.E Technique to repair a MOHs defect can be performed in Dr. Yagoda’s New York City office-based surgical facility or in a NYC hospital, under local anesthetic with IV sedation or under general anesthesia. This plastic surgery procedure takes between 45 minutes and two hours. The exact surgical technique is uniquely tailored by the plastic surgeon for each patient but most of the time, all incisions are made in a manner so as to create the most inconspicuous and elegant results. View actual patient photos here.
You can return to work the day after your plastic surgery and you’ll be able to use a stationary bike or treadmill by the second week. By the third week, you can return to full activities. Although you’ll see immediate improvement, your nose’s shape and your profile will continue to refine over the next 12 to 18 months.
Like all surgery, repair after MOHs surgery has certain risks including infection, bleeding, and reaction to anesthesia. Other risks include structural damage to the nose. Dr. Yagoda will discuss these potential risks as well as the benefits of this plastic surgery procedure in full during your consultation in her New York City office.
To determine if you might benefit from 3-D S.C.O.R.E Technique for repair after MOHs surgery, visit Dr. Yagoda before your MOHs surgery to schedule your personal comprehensive plastic surgery consultation in her New York, NY office.