MOHS Diagnostic Service

The Cellular Pathology Department provides Solihull Dermatology Department with a trained Specialist Biomedical Scientist and a Consultant Histopathologist to enable microscopic examination and rapid diagnosis during the skin surgery.

The Mohs frozen section procedure is used for the examination of unfixed skin excisions of confirmed Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) and occasionally Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) occurring in areas that are clinically difficult to operate on. This includes the face, ears and neck areas and occasionally scalp region.

The procedure relies on frozen section technique, stepped levels and specimen mapping to assess the surgical margin of a specimen. Where tumour is still present at the margin, further tissue is taken and the procedure repeated until all surgical margins are free from tumour. The procedure allows for a surgical margin clearance of 0.5mm and is considered tissue sparing. This also allows for improved healing and reduced scarring in patients undergoing this procedure. Occasionally it may be necessary to fix the specimen in 10% neutral buffered formalin for processing at a later date at the laboratory. In these cases the specimen and request form must be transported to Heartlands Hospital labelled URGENT MOHS SPECIMEN.Healthy tissue is spared and recurrence is extremely rare using this technique.

Information regarding the surgery is supplied to the patient by the Dermatology Department.

MOHS Clinics run on Mondays and Wednesdays between 09:00 and 17:00.