Mohs Micrographic Surgery for Invasive Melanoma Allows for Tissue Preservation Compared With Wide Local Excision: A Retrospective Cohort Study

BACKGROUND While increasing evidence supports the safety and effectiveness of immunohistochemistry-assisted Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) for superficially invasive melanoma, there is a paucity of the literature investigating its effect on final defect size. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the tissue sparing effect of MMS for melanoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS Three hundred and twenty-eight patients with early-stage (T1a/T1b) cutaneous melanomas treated with MMS from January 2008 to December 2018 were evaluated. Measured defect sizes after Mohs tumor extirpation were compared with anticipated defect size that would result from standard-margin wide local excision (WLE). Average actual versus anticipated defect areas were compared using a paired t-test (95% confidence intervals). RESULTS The following groups demonstrated a significantly smaller defect area for MMS-treated tumors when compared with anticipated standard-margin WLE defect: All tumors combined (13.8 cm(2) vs 10.4 cm(2), p < .001), tumors requiring 1 stage (13.6 cm(2) vs 10.1 cm(2), p < .001), and tumors requiring 2 stages (13.2 cm(2) vs 10.5 cm(2), p = .004). The majority of patients (83.5%, n = 274) achieved clear margins with 1 stage. CONCLUSION Immunohistochemistry-assisted MMS for early-stage invasive melanoma is associated with smaller final defect size and overall tissue sparing effect compared with standard WLE margins.