The procedure and recovery experience differ significantly between IG-SRT and Mohs, even though their cure outcomes are similar. With Mohs surgery, the cancer is cut out layer by layer. It’s typically done in one day, but you may go through multiple rounds of excision if any cancer is left at the margins, meaning you wait between rounds while tissue is examined. This results in a surgical wound that can be sizeable depending on the tumor, requiring wound care, stitches, and possibly reconstructive surgery (skin grafts/flaps) if the defect is large. There will be a healing period of weeks for the incision and often a permanent scar. Many patients need to take it easy after Mohs – no heavy exercise, keep the bandage dry, etc., until it heals. In contrast, IG-SRT involves no cutting at all. It is done in multiple short sessions (typically 18–25 sessions over several weeks) instead of one day. Each session is about 10–15 minutes and painless. There’s no wound to care for, so you don’t have activity restrictions – you can shower and do normal activities since there’s no surgical site to protect. Over the course of treatment, the area might get red or irritated like a sunburn, but you won’t have an open incision. After finishing IG-SRT, the skin heals up usually without scarring. So the summary is: Mohs is one day but invasive (with stitches and recovery time), whereas IG-SRT is spread out but noninvasive (with virtually no downtime during the process).
Category:
IG-SRT
