When I performed my first mole surgery in the early 2000s, I arrived at the operating room with a protocol, equipment, theoretical knowledge acquired during my training in San Diego, and clinical experience acquired during my extensive plastic surgery residency. What I didn't know yet was what only surgery after surgery teaches.
Ten thousand surgeries later, I can say that much of what I know today is not found in any textbook.
What the data doesn't tell:
A 99% cure rate in Mohs surgery for BCC tumors — that's a real number. But behind every percentage are people. A 72-year-old man who came in with a "small pimple on his nose" that turned out to be a tumor that had penetrated the cartilage. A 58-year-old woman who postponed surgery for a year and a half "because it didn't seem important." A 17-year-old boy whose tumor was discovered during a routine checkup.
Every case taught me something.
What surprises patients the most:
Most of them think that Mohs surgery is “major surgery.” They come with anxiety, with someone accompanying them, with questions about general anesthesia.
In reality: Most surgeries are performed under local anesthesia only, in the clinic's operating room. You arrive in the morning, return home at noon. The scar, in most cases, is almost invisible after six months.
What still worries me
Patients who arrive too late.
Not too late in the dramatic sense — but too late in the sense of "I knew something was wrong a year ago, but I thought..., I waited until..." Every month of waiting with BCC or SCC on the face is another millimeter of growth, another tissue that will have to be removed, another risk of complications and aesthetic damage that will be difficult to repair.
If you have a lesion that doesn't heal, a wound that recurs, a spot that changes — come. Even if it turns out to be completely benign in the end. A visit that rules out a tumor is better than a visit that proves you've been nurturing a large and dangerous tumor.
What hasn't changed:
Every surgery, from the first one until now, begins at that moment: when I explain to the patient about the surgery and what's going to happen and I see the anxiety go down their face. That hasn't changed. That won't change.
For questions or to schedule an appointment: WhatsApp/SMS to 050-5633002 or email to 5633033@gmail.com
