Skin cancer is removed through several methods, and the right one depends on the type of cancer, its size, its location on your body, and how deep it has grown. Most non-melanoma skin cancers are treated with an outpatient procedure that takes less than a day, while melanoma and more advanced cases may require wider surgery and additional treatment. Here’s how each approach works.
Mohs Surgery: Layer-by-Layer Removal
Mohs micrographic surgery is the most precise method for removing basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, the two most common types of skin cancer. A surgeon numbs the area with a local anesthetic, removes any visible tumor along with a thin margin of surrounding tissue, then immediately examines that tissue under a microscope. If cancer cells are still present at the edges, the surgeon removes another thin layer from only the areas that tested positive and checks again. This cycle repeats until no cancer remains.
The result is a high cure rate with minimal damage to healthy skin. For new basal cell carcinomas, Mohs surgery cures up to 99% of cases. For new squamous cell carcinomas, cure rates range from 95% to 99%. Even cancers that have come back after a previous treatment respond well: cure rates reach 94% for recurrent basal cell and about 90% for recurrent squamous cell. Mohs is especially useful for cancers on the face, ears, hands, and other areas where preserving tissue matters cosmetically or functionally.
A five-year trial comparing Mohs surgery to standard surgical excision for facial basal cell carcinoma found that for cancers being treated for the first time, recurrence rates were similar (about 2.5% for Mohs versus 4.1% for standard excision). But for recurrent cancers, Mohs had a clear advantage: only 2.4% recurred after Mohs compared with 12.1% after standard excision.
Standard Surgical Excision
In a standard excision, a surgeon cuts out the entire tumor along with a border of normal-looking skin around it. The removed tissue is sent to a lab, where a pathologist checks whether the edges are free of cancer cells. If cancer is found at the margins, a second surgery may be needed.
For melanoma, the width of that border depends on the tumor’s depth. Melanoma that hasn’t invaded below the top layer of skin (melanoma in situ) requires a margin of 0.5 to 1 centimeter. Thin melanomas need a 1-centimeter margin, intermediate-depth tumors need 1 to 2 centimeters, and the thickest melanomas require a full 2-centimeter margin. These wider margins mean more tissue is removed, but they significantly reduce the chance of leaving cancer cells behind.
Standard excision is a common first-line treatment for melanoma and for non-melanoma skin cancers that are straightforward to remove. It typically requires stitches and leaves a linear scar.
Curettage and Electrodesiccation
This technique works best for small, superficial basal cell carcinomas. A doctor uses a spoon-shaped instrument called a curette to scrape away the cancer, then applies an electric current to the base of the wound to destroy remaining cancer cells and stop bleeding. The scraping-and-burning cycle is traditionally repeated two or three times in the same session to improve the odds of complete removal, though research suggests some tumors with less invasive growth patterns are fully cleared in a single cycle.
The procedure is quick, performed under local anesthesia, and doesn’t require stitches. It heals by forming a scab that gradually fills in, leaving a flat, round scar. It’s not ideal for cancers on the face, cancers that have grown deep, or aggressive tumor types, because there’s no way to examine the tissue margins under a microscope afterward.
Topical Treatments
Certain superficial skin cancers and precancerous spots can be treated with prescription creams applied at home. One commonly used cream works by triggering your immune system to attack abnormal cells. For superficial skin cancer, you apply it five times per week at bedtime for six weeks. For precancerous patches called actinic keratoses, treatment schedules vary but can stretch to 16 weeks with twice-weekly application.
Another topical option uses a chemotherapy agent that kills rapidly dividing cells on the skin’s surface. These creams cause redness, crusting, and irritation in the treated area, which is a sign they’re working. Topical treatments are reserved for very early, surface-level cancers and aren’t appropriate for tumors that have grown deeper into the skin.
Radiation Therapy
Superficial radiation therapy directs focused energy at the cancer from outside the body, destroying tumor cells without any cutting. Treatment sessions are short, and the total course typically ranges from 5 to 20 sessions depending on the cancer’s characteristics.
Radiation is often recommended when surgery isn’t a good option. That includes older patients, people with health conditions that make anesthesia or wound healing risky, and cancers located in cosmetically sensitive areas where surgery would leave significant scarring. Because it’s entirely non-invasive, radiation avoids surgical risks like infection and prolonged recovery. It’s used primarily for basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, not as a standalone treatment for melanoma.
What Recovery Looks Like
After a surgical removal with stitches, you’ll keep the wound covered for the first 24 to 48 hours. After that, gently washing the site with cool water and soap is fine. Strenuous activity should be limited to prevent the wound from reopening, especially if the surgery was on a joint or an area that moves a lot. Healing timelines vary by location and the size of the wound, but most small excision sites heal within two to three weeks.
If the cancer was treated with cryotherapy (freezing), a blister usually forms within a few hours. Pain lasts up to three days, and a scab forms that peels away on its own within one to three weeks. Topical treatments involve weeks of skin irritation that resolves after the treatment course ends. Radiation-treated skin may become red and tender during the treatment course but heals without a surgical wound.
Repairing Larger Wounds
When removing a skin cancer leaves a wound too large to close with stitches alone, reconstructive techniques fill the gap. The two main approaches are skin grafts and skin flaps.
A skin graft takes a thin piece of skin from another part of your body (often the thigh or behind the ear) and places it over the wound. The graft doesn’t bring its own blood supply, so it depends on the tissue underneath to feed it as it heals. Grafts work well for shallow, flat wounds.
A skin flap moves nearby tissue, still attached to its original blood supply, to cover the wound. Because flaps carry their own blood vessels, they can be much larger than grafts and are better suited for deeper or more complex defects. Flaps can include skin, fat, muscle, or even bone depending on what’s needed. These procedures are common after Mohs surgery or wide excisions on the face, where both wound closure and cosmetic results matter.