Mohs surgery is generally the gold standard for rare and more aggressive tumors because the surgeon can ensure the roots of the tumor are gone, but the technique keeps the hole small, said Ally-Khan B. Somani, MD, PhD, at the 25th European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress.
Mohs surgery is generally the gold standard for rare and more aggressive tumors because the surgeon can ensure the roots of the tumor are gone, but the technique keeps the hole small, said Ally-Khan B. Somani, MD, PhD, at the 25th European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress.
Transcript
Do rarer tumors need to be operated on differently?
With Mohs surgery, because in a very simple way what we do is we go around the tumor—it doesn't matter what the tumor is. If it's a skin cancer, and there are different types, our goal is to check to see if we removed all the roots. So think of a tree. We're pulling out a tree and we're checking to see if the roots are there or not. Because if the roots are still there in the piece we've removed, then we need to line up those roots back to the patient and go back and dig some more. So it really doesn't change.
In fact, it is the gold standard for a lot of rare and more aggressive tumors because it affords us the ability to keep the hole small—which is good for the patient from a scar perspective—but also to provide them with a very high cure rate, which you would want if you're going to have a cancer on your face. You want to keep the whole small and you want to make sure it doesn't come back.
Are necessary cosmetic procedures covered by insurance, or do patients have to pay out of pocket?
Given the type of surgery I do, most of the surgeries I do are indicated, because patients are coming in with a cancer—in fact, that's pretty much my practice. However, if I do encounter a patient with a deviated septum or has a nasal issue, as long as there is a functional issue, then usually insurance companies will cover it. It's only when it's just a cosmetic, like rhinoplasty, that's not covered. It's considered a cosmetic procedure.
Enhancing Outpatient Hemophilia Care May Improve Health Outcomes and Costs
May 18th 2024Prospective data from patients attending a rural practice in West Virginia between 2016 and 2023 show that a quality improvement program that followed guideline recommendations and was tailored to specific patient needs reduced preventable bleeds and lowered costs.
Read More
Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity: Urban Health Outreach
May 9th 2024In the series debut episode of "Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity," Mary Sligh, CRNP, and Chelsea Chappars, of Allegheny Health Network, explain how the Urban Health Outreach program aims to improve health equity for individuals experiencing homelessness.
Listen
Examining Low-Value Cancer Care Trends Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 25th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the April 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on the rates of low-value cancer care services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Listen