Mohs Around the World
Preview of the International Mohs Surgery Symposium: Perspectives from Around the World
By Christie Regula, MD, FACMS
At this year’s annual ACMS meeting, the College is hosting the first ever International Mohs Surgery Symposium. Taking place on Wednesday, May 1, from 4-6 p.m., this symposium will bring together Mohs surgeons from around the world with the goal of gaining a better understanding of the challenges and successes of international Mohs surgery practices. ACMS president, Dr. Sumaira Aasi, organized this first International Mohs Surgery Symposium and believes that “the ACMS should be at the forefront of helping to standardize how Mohs surgery is done globally.”
The session will feature four speakers, Krisinda C. Dim-Jamora, MD from the Philippines, Walayat Hussain, MD, FACMS from the United Kingdom, Felipe B. Cerci, MD, MSc from Brazil and Pieter J. du Plessis, MBChB, MMed, FC Derm from South Africa. These speakers will share the challenges that they face in their surgical practice, some shared and some unique, due to their location, healthcare system, and demographics amongst other factors. Some of these challenges include inconsistency or lack of Mohs training programs, reimbursement issues, scope of practice limitations, particularly in reading their own pathology, and their perceived value to the healthcare system as a whole. Luckily, we no longer face most of these issues in the United States and it is a privilege that we may often take for granted. While we cannot help to change international healthcare systems or national guidelines, we can provide a community for discussion of these challenges and resources to help international Mohs surgeons further the specialty in their own countries.
As Mohs surgeons, we appreciate that the care we give is very closely tied to the precise manner in which the Mohs procedure is performed. Many international Mohs surgeons must travel to learn the procedure and tissue processing. They return to their home institutions and must, from the ground up, establish a quality Mohs lab with well-trained staff. They do all of this while often having to convince their colleagues, both within dermatology and other specialties, that the cure rates for skin cancer achieved through Mohs surgery are unparalleled and that providing this option for their skin cancer patients is a worthwhile endeavor. These international Mohs pioneers face the challenge of promoting the growth of Mohs surgery while ensuring that the Mohs surgery training and laboratory work is of the highest quality, while having no formalized standards to aid them.
This symposium will help to educate ACMS members on the challenges and successes of international Mohs surgeons in order to brainstorm practical and realistic ways that the College can support them. The stronger that Mohs surgery is internationally, with the ACMS leading the charge, the more it benefits our specialty, skin cancer patients everywhere, and in the end, every member of the Mohs College.