Jill Biden to Undergo Mohs Surgery to Remove Skin Lesion

First lady Jill Biden will have a small skin lesion removed above her right eye after a routine cancer skin screening revealed its presence. Biden, 71, will undergo an outpatient procedure on January 11 at Walter Reed National Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, says NBC News. The procedure is known as Mohs surgery during which doctors will remove the lesion and examine the skin tissue layer by layer for signs of cancer.

The president’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, issued a memo Wednesday saying that “In an abundance of caution, doctors recommended that it be removed.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, Mohs surgery is a procedure used to treat skin cancer. The surgery involves cutting away thin layers of skin. Each layer is looked at closely for signs of cancer. The process keeps going until there are no signs of disease.

The goal of Mohs surgery is to remove all skin cancer without harming the healthy tissue around it. It allows the surgeon to be sure all cancer is gone, which makes it more likely the cancer is cured and reduces the need for further treatment or more surgery.

There are certain risks associated with the surgery such as bleeding, pain or tenderness around the areas where the surgery was done, and infection. Less common problems could occur that include temporary or permanent numbness of the surgical area, temporary or permanent weakness of the area, shooting pain or scarring.

The procedure is done in an outpatient surgery center or in a doctor’s office for most patients and is usually completed within four hours, says the Mayo Clinic. A local anesthetic helps numb the skin, so you don’t feel any pain during the procedure. The major advantage of Mohs surgery is that you know the results right away and usually don’t leave your appointment until all the skin cancer has been removed. According to the Cleveland Clinic, Mohs surgery is a very common treatment for high-risk skin cancer because it has a cure rate of 99%. This is the lowest recurrence rate of any other treatment for skin cancer. The Skin Cancer Foundation says that one in five Americans will develop skin cancer by the age of 70.

Source: Newsmax Health