MOHS SURGERY is a highly orchestrated procedure performed in a logical and predictable sequence in patient after patient and session after session. It thus lends itself to the use of preprinted forms and templates. These can be adapted to the individual methods of each surgeon to serve as a checklist before, during, and after each Mohs procedure. This ensures that the entire sequence of interrelated steps of each Mohs case is performed accurately and efficiently.

There is nothing as frustrating as having a patient present for surgery with neither the patient nor the surgeon able to identify the exact location of the cancer site. Figures 20.1 and 20.2 documents the initial patient encounter, recording referral information and history and physical findings of importance for a patient who will undergo a multihour procedure using local anesthesia. The diagram may show the location of the lesion with cross-measurements from several easily referenced anatomic landmarks (Figure 20.2). A digital photograph of the site may also be taken at the first visit to document the cancer site. Some surgeons take a photograph and document cross-measurements giving the Mohs surgeon-pathologist two methods of localizing the correct cancer site on the day of surgery.

Form 2 (Figure 20.3) is a short referral form that can be completed quickly and returned to the referring physician. There are areas in which to document when the patient was seen, the treatment plan, tumor type and anatomic site, and the referring doctor's biopsy number.