Frederic E. Mohs
Encyclopedia
Frederic Edward Mohs a physician
and general surgeon, developed the Mohs micrographic surgery
(MMS) technique in 1938 to remove skin cancer
lesions while still a medical student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
. The Mohs procedure is considered the best method for treating certain types of skin cancer
, especially of the head and neck, with cure rates approaching 100%.
Mohs was born in Burlington, Wisconsin
. His father died when he was 3 months old, and the family moved to Madison, where his mother ran a boarding house. After initially considering a career as a radio engineer, he switched to medical studies in college. Mohs began developing his treatment in the 1930s, experimenting on rats, puppies, other animals. The breakthrough came when he discovered that applying a combination zinc chloride
and bloodroot
paste to malignant rat skin tissue allowed it to be removed surgically and examined under a microscope. He treated his first human patient on June 23, 1936. Mohs, who spent his working life at the University of Wisconsin, was a tireless advocate for the surgical procedure he had devised and taught it to doctors from all over the world.
In 1943 Mohs married Mary Ellen Reynolds, who died in 1995. Dr. Mohs died at his home in Madison, Wisconsin on July 2, 2002 at the age of 92. He is survived by two sons, Frederic and Thomas, of Madison; and a daughter, Jane Shimming of Jupiter, Fla.
Mohs first tried to publish his findings and encouraged surgeons to learn the procedure. This was largely unsuccessful, as many surgeons were not comfortable learning skin pathology and laboratory techniques. Dermatologists, who are well trained in dermatopathology
, and who treat skin cancers on a daily basis, quickly embraced the procedure. Today, most Mohs procedures are performed by dermatologists, although a small number of plastic surgeons, otolaryngologists, and pathologists are also practicing and using the procedure as well.
Mohs' technique was later modified by Perry Robins in the 1970s, using fresh-tissue frozen histology. Rather than using the anesthetic Mohs paste, local anesthetic is used. The fresh skin specimen is then mounted on a cryostat
, and frozen sections are examined instead of the Mohs paste-fixed sections. This method is now commonly referred to as Mohs surgery
, and occasionally chemosurgery, in reference to the Mohs paste Dr. Mohs initially used.
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and general surgeon, developed the Mohs micrographic surgery
Mohs surgery
Mohs surgery, also known as chemosurgery, created by a general surgeon, Dr. Frederic E. Mohs, is microscopically controlled surgery used to treat common types of skin cancer. It is one of the many methods of obtaining complete margin control during removal of a skin cancer using frozen section...
(MMS) technique in 1938 to remove skin cancer
Skin cancer
Skin neoplasms are skin growths with differing causes and varying degrees of malignancy. The three most common malignant skin cancers are basal cell cancer, squamous cell cancer, and melanoma, each of which is named after the type of skin cell from which it arises...
lesions while still a medical student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
. The Mohs procedure is considered the best method for treating certain types of skin cancer
Skin cancer
Skin neoplasms are skin growths with differing causes and varying degrees of malignancy. The three most common malignant skin cancers are basal cell cancer, squamous cell cancer, and melanoma, each of which is named after the type of skin cell from which it arises...
, especially of the head and neck, with cure rates approaching 100%.
Mohs was born in Burlington, Wisconsin
Burlington, Wisconsin
Burlington is a city in Racine and Walworth counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, with the majority of the city located in Racine County. The population was 10,421 at the 2009 census.-History:...
. His father died when he was 3 months old, and the family moved to Madison, where his mother ran a boarding house. After initially considering a career as a radio engineer, he switched to medical studies in college. Mohs began developing his treatment in the 1930s, experimenting on rats, puppies, other animals. The breakthrough came when he discovered that applying a combination zinc chloride
Zinc chloride
Zinc chloride is the name of chemical compound with the formula ZnCl2 and its hydrates. Zinc chlorides, of which nine crystalline forms are known, are colorless or white, and are highly soluble in water. ZnCl2 itself is hygroscopic and even deliquescent. Samples should therefore be protected from...
and bloodroot
Bloodroot
Bloodroot is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant native to eastern North America from Nova Scotia, Canada southward to Florida, United States...
paste to malignant rat skin tissue allowed it to be removed surgically and examined under a microscope. He treated his first human patient on June 23, 1936. Mohs, who spent his working life at the University of Wisconsin, was a tireless advocate for the surgical procedure he had devised and taught it to doctors from all over the world.
In 1943 Mohs married Mary Ellen Reynolds, who died in 1995. Dr. Mohs died at his home in Madison, Wisconsin on July 2, 2002 at the age of 92. He is survived by two sons, Frederic and Thomas, of Madison; and a daughter, Jane Shimming of Jupiter, Fla.
Mohs first tried to publish his findings and encouraged surgeons to learn the procedure. This was largely unsuccessful, as many surgeons were not comfortable learning skin pathology and laboratory techniques. Dermatologists, who are well trained in dermatopathology
Dermatopathology
Dermatopathology is a subspecialty of both dermatology and surgical pathology that focuses on the study of cutaneous diseases at a microscopic level. It also encompasses analyses of the potential causes of skin diseases at a cellular level. Dermatopathologists work in close association with...
, and who treat skin cancers on a daily basis, quickly embraced the procedure. Today, most Mohs procedures are performed by dermatologists, although a small number of plastic surgeons, otolaryngologists, and pathologists are also practicing and using the procedure as well.
Mohs' technique was later modified by Perry Robins in the 1970s, using fresh-tissue frozen histology. Rather than using the anesthetic Mohs paste, local anesthetic is used. The fresh skin specimen is then mounted on a cryostat
Cryostat
A cryostat is a device used to maintain cold cryogenic temperatures. Low temperatures may be maintained within a cryostat by using various refrigeration methods, most commonly using cryogenic fluid bath such as liquid helium. Hence it is usually assembled into a vessel, similar in construction...
, and frozen sections are examined instead of the Mohs paste-fixed sections. This method is now commonly referred to as Mohs surgery
Mohs surgery
Mohs surgery, also known as chemosurgery, created by a general surgeon, Dr. Frederic E. Mohs, is microscopically controlled surgery used to treat common types of skin cancer. It is one of the many methods of obtaining complete margin control during removal of a skin cancer using frozen section...
, and occasionally chemosurgery, in reference to the Mohs paste Dr. Mohs initially used.