Cryosurgery
Extreme cold may be used to treat precancerous skin conditions, such as actinic keratosis, as well as certain small skin cancers. In cryosurgery, liquid nitrogen is applied to the growth to freeze and kill the abnormal cells. After the area thaws, the dead tissue falls off. More than one freezing may be needed to remove the growth completely. Cryosurgery usually does not hurt, but patients may have pain and swelling after the area thaws. A white scar may form in the treated area.

Laser Therapy
Laser therapy uses a narrow beam of light to remove or destroy cancer cells. This approach is sometimes used for cancers that involve only the outer layer of skin.

Surgical Excision
Surgical excision is literally cutting the cancer out. The surgical excision is also called resection, and the borders of the entire area excised are known as the margins. Surgery has made great advances since the 1990s, and much less tissue is removed than was customary even a few years ago. Patients do just as well after the lesser surgery, which is easier to tolerate and produces a smaller scar.

The Mohs' technique of checking tissue under the microscope during surgery for the presence of cancer minimizes the amount of normal tissue removed, which lessens the chance of scarring or other potentially cosmetically damaging side effects.

In most cases, Mohs' Micrographic Skin Cancer Surgery is the treatment of choice for large cancers, hard-to-define cancers and cosmetically sensitive cancers such as those on the face, the lips, the eyelids or the ears.

Dr. McCauley possess advanced training and extensive experience in the Mohs' surgical procedure. Upon diagnosis , he will determine which removal technique is best for your skin cancer treatment.