This section is designed to help you care for your surgical wound following Mohs Surgery and any reconstruction of your skin defect.
Supplies that need to be purchased prior to surgery:
All of these items are over-the-counter and are available in drug stores and pharmacies.
Keep the post-operative bandage in place until showering the next morning. Before showering, remove the bandage and discard it in the trash. Cleanse your incision with soapy water (not hydrogen peroxide) to remove any drainage and crusting. Pat the wound dry and apply a generous layer of Polysporin ointment to the incision. Cover the Polysporin with a Telfa dressing cut into the shape of the wound. Tape the Telfa dressing in place with paper tape. Continue this wound care once daily until you return for suture removal.
Continue your regular medications as you normally would. If your primary physician, cardiologist or prescribing physician recommended you discontinue your blood thinners prior to surgery, you may restart your Apixaban (Eliquis), Dabigatran (Pradaxa), Enoxaparin (Lovenox), Heparin (Innohep), Rivaroxaban (Xarelto), Warfarin (Coumadin), Clopidogrel, (Plavix), Ticagrilor (Brilinta), and Aspirin on the day after surgery. In the first evening after surgery, take TYLENOL, not aspirin, for pain. Thereafter, the best post-Mohs pain regimen is Tylenol alternating with Ibuprofen (ie, Motrin) every 6 hours at dosages listed on the over-the-counter packaging.
Spend the first-day post-surgery relaxing. Keep your head elevated during the first few evenings with a couple of pillows. If surgery was performed around the eyes, apply ice packs during the first 48 hours to minimize swelling. Forehead, superior cheek, or eyelid repairs may result in a black eye(s) and swelling around the eyes. Forehead repairs may result in a delayed swelling of the eyelids resulting from gravity-induced swelling and will resolve over a few days. Heavy lifting and exercise are not allowed until after the sutures are removed. Showering can be started the morning after surgery. Bathing is allowed if the incision site is not soaked for more than one minute at a time. Pat the wound dry after leaving the shower and reapply the polysporin and bandage. Swimming is not allowed until after the sutures are removed.
Rarely, the deeper, self-dissolving stitches may not completely dissolve. After 3 to 6 weeks following your repair, these stitches may present as a bump or pimple along the incision line. These “spitting stiches” may need to be removed in the office to accelerate the healing process.
Please call the office if you experience:
