The Impact of Early Incomplete Sections on Mohs Micrographic Surgery Margin Assessment.

Cohort studyClinical and experimental dermatology· May 2026

The Impact of Early Incomplete Sections on Mohs Micrographic Surgery Margin Assessment.

William Phillips, Michael J Davis, Megan H Trager … Kishwer Nehal

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Dermatologic SurgeryCohort studyClinical practiceQ2IF 1.3

Including early incomplete sections reclassified 12.7% of positive Mohs margins as negative

The Impact of Early Incomplete Sections on Mohs Micrographic Surgery Margin Assessment.

William Phillips … Kishwer Nehal

Clinical and experimental dermatology · May 2026 · Q2 in Dermatology

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed 500 basal cell carcinoma (basal cell carcinoma) Mohs pieces with early incomplete sections and prospective evaluation of 250 serially step-sectioned basal cell carcinoma pieces.

n = 500 basal cell carcinoma (BCC) Mohs

Results

12.7%

early sections cleared 1 in 8 margins first read as cancer-positive

n = 500 basal cell carcinoma (BCC) Mohs

More results

The impact of early incomplete sections (early incomplete sections) on margin interpretation has not been systematically studied.

Here, we evaluate how inclusion of early incomplete sections affects tumor status interpretation during Mohs Micrographic Surgery.

More results

Prospectively, early incomplete sections reduced positivity from 35.6 to 27.2%.

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Conclusion

The clinical application is nuanced and should take into account patient and tumor factors as determined by the Mohs surgeon.

The Impact of Early Incomplete Sections on Mohs Micrographic Surgery Margin Assessment.

The Impact of Early Incomplete Sections on Mohs Micrographic Surgery Margin Assessment.

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