Moh's surgery on the NHS - what are the options?

So I had the surgery starting 8am Friday 28th Jan. First stage went quick - from injection of local anesthetic to removal of first sample was only about 5mins, then about another 40mins to get the results for that back (I was the only Moh's patient that morning so their lab tech only had my case to deal with). There was a little bit of cancer left so needed a second pass to get the last bit (amount of tissue removed the second time was only small). Lab results came back about 20mins later and got the all clear.

I was expecting to need reconstruction on the side of my nose but the hole was considered small enough to just stitch the wound shut (circular hole measuring 9mm by 8mm). There was a bit of fiddling about to "shape" the end result (needed a couple of extra cuts to prevent skin from looking pinched) but only needed about a dozen stitches or so.

Surgery was two days ago now and no obvious post-op complications so far. Bit of pain but manageable using over the counter meds (paracetamol). So all good so far...appear to be cancer free with no issues during the op or after the op. Need to keep the pressure dressing on for a week and then stitches out in about 3 weeks.

The clinic I used was one in London - HCA Healthcase UK on Sydney Street. Guy who did the procedure was Dr. Raj Mallipeddi who I thought did good job. I researched him beforehand: loads of experience, good bedside manner, really friendly plus over 2000 previous Moh's procedures under his belt, so I was confident I was in good hands.

Total cost for the procedure was £3.5k including the initial consult. Spent about another £500 on hotels and food (stayed at the Millennium Gloucester hotel for 2 nights). I opted to go private as the NHS options were 1) general surgery (not Moh's) waiting time was between 3-6 months but they would have made a much bigger hole (2-3 times) and reconstruction would have been a lot more complicated, plus they don't check to make sure they have all the cancer out, 2) Moh's on the NHS but the waiting time I was told would likely be 2+ years so by that time it would have been a lot bigger and needed more complicated reconstruction. So the only way go get it done fast (4 weeks from consultation to operation) and have Moh's was to pay for it myself.

So....so far so good but obviously can't tell what the end result will look like for another few months yet, but at this point I'm happy with how things have gone. :-)

Hi

Thanks for coming back and giving us a detailed account of your day as I'm sure others considering or having Mohs surgery will find it very useful.

I just want to add to your comment

Unknown said:

general surgery (not Moh's) waiting time was between 3-6 months but they would have made a much bigger hole (2-3 times) and reconstruction would have been a lot more complicated, plus they don't check to make sure they have all the cancer out,

that with 'general' surgery they do check to make sure that all the cancer has been removed. It's just that this doesn't happen on the same day as it has to be sent off to be biopsied and the results can take several weeks to come back. I didn't want people who are not having Mohs surgery to read this and think that they might be left with cancer cells.

Let us know how everything heals. When I had surgery, not Mohs, to remove a BCC I had dissolvable stitches so obviously didn't need them removing. I'd say that my wound had healed completely after a couple of weeks and now, 6 months later, it's just a feint line.

x