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Abstract
Background/aims: To determine the success of Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) for periocular basal cell carcinoma (BCC) at a tertiary referral centre in the UK. Design: A retrospective interventional case series covering 5 years of practice. Methods: Review of medical records of 104 consecutive patients who underwent MMS for confirmed periocular BCC. The main outcome measure was biopsy-proven recurrence of BCC at the same anatomical location after MMS. Secondary outcome measures included tumour site, histological subtype and length of follow-up. Results: 104 patients underwent MMS for periocular BCC from January 2003 to July 2008. 63 (62%) of the surgeries were for primary BCC and 25 procedures (25%) were for recurrent or residual BCC. 64% of tumours were nodular BCC. The mean follow-up was 28 months (range 1–85 months). Six recurrences were identified in total. The recurrence rate following MMS for primary BCC was 1.6% (1 patient) compared to 20% (5 patients) in the patient group treated for residual or recurrent tumours. The mean time to recurrence was 39 months (range 16–71 months). Conclusions: MMS for primary BCC has a very high success rate but the recurrence rate increases significantly in cases of recurrent or residual tumours.