What is the typical recovery and downtime from Mohs surgery? What should I expect for after care needs?

Thank you for your question. Recovery is always going to be different for everyone. Most patients report minimal pain/discomfort after surgery and require minimal or no pain medication. If patients experience a lot of pain, we will prescribe something for the pain. Most patients are able to return to work or school the next day after Mohs. Things to avoid while recovering include heavy lifting, straining, or strenuous exercise for seven to 21 days may be required depending on the area of surgery. Hope this was helpful, best of luck!Dhaval M. Patel Double board certified Plastic surgeonHoffman Estates BarringtonOakbrookChicago

Recovery after Mohs surgery can be very quick, depending on the anatomic location.  In general, surgery around the eyes, nose or lips can remain swollen longer than the forehead or face.  Although you may be healed, scars can be persistently red and inflamed for many months.  It is important to seek a qualified reconstructive surgeon after the Mohs excision that can assist with minimizing your scars

Without knowing the size or location of your skin cancer it's impossible to say how long your recovery will take. For small skin only defects, recovery can take about a week. For larger defects requiring complex multi-stage reconstruction, recovery can involve much longer periods of time. Your dermatologist and reconstructive surgeon should be able to give you a more accurate estimation.Stephen Weber MD, FACS

More and more dermatologic surgeons are moving to just plain vaseline or Aquaphor for post-op wound care as there is significant prevalence of allergy to neomycin, bacitracin and/or polysporin. Sometimes it may not be easy to distinguish wound infection vs. allergic reaction to topical antibiotics. The hallmark of infection is pain and the hallmark for allergic reaction is itching. Prophylactic oral antibiotics may not always be necessary; however if one experiences pain in surgery site after first 3-4 days, you should call your Mohs surgeon for consideration of oral antibiotics and re-evaluation to rule out post-op infection or hematoma (entrapment of blood drainage).

Your recovery all depends on the location of the surgery, the extent of the removal and size of the defect prior to closure, the amount of tension and the type of closure. Swelling is more likely to occur around the eyes, as well as bruising. Lips tend to swell also. Ears may be more painful postoperatively than other sites. Usually within two to four weeks, the closure begins to look more presentable, but again, this all depends on the factors mentioned previously.