Quantity and characteristics of flap or graft repairs for skin cancer on the nose or ears: a comparison between Mohs micrographic surgery and plastic surgery.

One benefit of Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) is maximal tissue sparing compared to standard excisional surgery techniques. It also has the highest statistical cure rate for appropriately selected nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) in cosmetically sensitive areas, making it a preferred choice for many self-referred patients or their referring physicians. Patients and nondermatologist physicians may be unaware of how frequently Mohs surgeons perform complex surgical repairs compared to other specialists. Our objective was to compare the quantity and characteristics of flap or graft repairs on the nose or ears following skin cancer extirpation performed by either a fellowship-trained Mohs surgeon or plastic surgeons at 1 academic institution. A retrospective chart review of all skin cancer surgeries was performed to collect data on all flap or graft repairs on the nose or ears at Baylor Scott and White Health (Temple, Texas) from October 1, 2016, to October 1, 2017. We collected secondary data on final defect size prior to the repair, skin tumor type, referring specialty for the procedure, and patient demographics. We found that Mohs surgeons performed a larger number of complex repairs on cosmetically sensitive areas compared to plastic surgeons following skin cancer removal, which may be unrecognized in several specialties that refer patients for management of skin cancers, creating a possible practice gap. More data may aid referring providers in optimally advising and managing patients with cutaneous malignancies.