Treatment of squamous and basal cell carcinomas of the hand with Mohs micrographic surgery: Analysis of 53 consecutive patients

Squamous cell carcinomas of the hand treated by both cold steel surgery and other methods have historically had significant rates of local tumor recurrence and metastases. In this series, 53 cases of invasive squamous cell carcinomas and basal cell carcinomas of the hand, treated by Mohs micrographic surgery over an 11 year period, were analyzed. There were no tumor recurrences or metastases for the 46 squamous cell or the 7 basal cell carcinomas after 66.9 years and 14.3 years of cumulative follow-up, respectively. This data suggests that Mohs micrographic surgery enjoys very high cure rates for both squamous and basal cell carcinomas of the hand. It is likely to be the treatment of choice for many of these tumors.