BACKGROUND: Surgical excision, including Mohs micrographic surgery, is the treatment of first choice for basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Occasionally, the Mohs procedure has to be ceased prematurely for unforeseen reasons. OBJECTIVE: We sought for possibilities to adjuvantly treat patients in which superficial basal cell carcinoma remained after incomplete Mohs surgery. METHODS: We report 3 cases of patients in which Mohs micrographic surgery for their large basal cell carcinomas was ceased for different unforeseen reasons, with remaining superficial fields of BCC after the aggressive and deeply localized part had been removed. Three weeks after closure of the defect, adjuvant therapy for the superficial remnants of the tumor with imiquimod 5% cream was given for 6 weeks, covering at least 1 centimeter around the surgically treated area. RESULTS: The treatment was well accepted with no serious side effects and a good cosmetic result. No recurrences were seen after a follow-up period of 20 to 34 months. CONCLUSION: A combination of surgical intervention for the central deeper part of the BCC and topical imiquimod 5% cream for the superficial part at the border might be a therapeutic option for those patients with multiple facial BCCs, severe sun damage, and extensive surgery in the past, in whom completion of the Mohs surgical procedure for the entire tumor is not possible for different reasons.
BACKGROUND: Surgical excision, including Mohs micrographic surgery, is the treatment of first choice for basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Occasionally, the Mohs procedure has to be ceased prematurely for unforeseen reasons. OBJECTIVE: We sought for possibilities to adjuvantly treat patients in which superficial basal cell carcinoma remained after incomplete Mohs surgery. METHODS: We report 3 cases of patients in which Mohs micrographic surgery for their large basal cell carcinomas was ceased for different unforeseen reasons, with remaining superficial fields of BCC after the aggressive and deeply localized part had been removed. Three weeks after closure of the defect, adjuvant therapy for the superficial remnants of the tumor with imiquimod 5% cream was given for 6 weeks, covering at least 1 centimeter around the surgically treated area. RESULTS: The treatment was well accepted with no serious side effects and a good cosmetic result. No recurrences were seen after a follow-up period of 20 to 34 months. CONCLUSION: A combination of surgical intervention for the central deeper part of the BCC and topical imiquimod 5% cream for the superficial part at the border might be a therapeutic option for those patients with multiple facial BCCs, severe sun damage, and extensive surgery in the past, in whom completion of the Mohs surgical procedure for the entire tumor is not possible for different reasons.