The Area's Only Dual ACMS + ASDS Fellowship-Trained Mohs Surgeon: Dr. Sarah Wilson

The American College of Mohs Surgery (ACMS) was founded by Dr. Frederic Mohs himself. ACMS-approved fellowship training programs are significantly more rigorous than other Mohs programs. Fellows-in-training undergo months of extensive, hands-on direction from highly qualified instructors. Choosing a fellowship-trained Mohs surgeon means choosing a physician whose training was measured against the most rigorous standards in the field.

Why choose an ACMS surgeon?

Source: ACMS

Intensive training

Upon completion of a dermatology residency, a physician can apply to participate in a Micrographic Surgery & Dermatologic Oncology (Mohs) fellowship training program. Qualified applicants undergo an extremely competitive review and selection process to obtain a 1- to 2-year fellowship position with a program accredited by the ACMS (international programs), the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME; U.S. programs), or the Australasian College of Dermatologists.

ACGME and ACD programs are recognized by the ACMS, and fellowships accredited by these organizations safeguard the standards of Micrographic Surgery & Dermatologic Oncology (Mohs) by ensuring that fellows-in-training are properly trained and acquire the necessary expertise to perform the Mohs procedure. Accredited programs follow a structured curriculum that includes graded responsibility, operative and non-operative education, and exposure to long-term results, recurrences, and complications.

Highly qualified instructors

Each fellow-in-training is paired with an accredited, veteran ACMS surgeon who has demonstrated proficiency and expertise in Mohs surgery. The fellow-in-training receives direct Mohs surgery direction and mentoring for the duration of the program. To ensure adherence to the ACMS academic and clinical requirements, training centers are re-evaluated every 1 to 5 years.

Extensive experience

Fellowship training programs are designed to impart experience and judgment into each graduate. By design, these programs are comprehensive and rigorous because skin cancer itself occurs in a diversity of forms, degrees, and areas of the body. To complete an ACMS-approved fellowship, a physician must:

• Participate in a minimum of 600 Mohs surgery cases
• Learn to accurately interpret slides of tissue samples that have been removed during Mohs surgery
• Perform a wide breadth of reconstructions, ranging from simple closures to complicated multi-step repairs

Because fellows-in-training undergo training over months, they gain a breadth of exposure – under the guidance of a qualified Mohs surgeon – that includes rare tumor pathology, difficult tumor locations, and complex wound reconstruction. This fellowship training provides a depth of experience unmatched by other Mohs programs.

Why choose an ASDS surgeon?

The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS) is the largest specialty organization in the United States exclusively representing dermatologic surgeons who have unique training and experience to treat the health, function and beauty of skin throughout every stage of life. ASDS members are recognized as leaders in the field of cosmetic and medically necessary skin surgery. They also are pioneers in the field; many are involved in the clinical studies that bring new treatments to the forefront. For a Mohs patient, Dr. Wilson's ASDS cosmetic-surgery fellowship means the surgeon removing your cancer trained specifically in advanced reconstruction and aesthetics — the repair is planned with the same rigor as the removal.