Miami: (305) 444-4979
Dr. Alysa Herman
135 San Lorenzo Avenue #700
Coral Gables, FL 33146
Phone: (305) 444-4979
Fax: (305) 444-4978
Monday-Friday: 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Mohs micrographic surgery is the most effective and precise treatment for most types of skin cancer. For that reason, it is important to select a fellowship-trained Mohs surgeon who is a member of the American College of Mohs Surgery (ACMS), such as Dr. Alysa Herman. One of the most highly regarded Mohs surgeons in Miami, Florida, Dr. Herman is exceptionally skilled in the specialized processes and techniques required for Mohs micrographic surgery. Because she limits her practice specifically to Mohs surgery and surgical dermatology, Dr. Herman has developed the abilities and experience needed to achieve an optimal outcome for her skin cancer patients.
Request a consultation online today, or call (305) 444-4979 to schedule your appointment with Dr. Herman.
If you've been diagnosed with skin cancer, you need a physician who is exceptionally qualified, experienced and compassionate. Dr. Herman is renowned among physicians and patients for her credentials and her dedication to patient care.
Request your Consultation ▸When choosing a surgeon to perform Mohs surgery it’s important to find one who is a fellowship-trained member of the American College of Mohs Surgery (ACMS). Being an ACMS member requires extensive training and experience that’s not matched by other skin cancer surgeons. After completing years of residency training, an ACMS member gets at least a full year of hands-on training performing the Mohs procedure during a fellowship supervised by a highly qualified instructor. In addition, to earn ACMS membership a fellowship-trained Mohs surgeon must:
Other Mohs surgery organizations don’t match the strict requirements used by the American College of Mohs Surgery.
As a Mohs College surgeon, Dr. Herman has the high level of skills, knowledge, and experience required to precisely detect skin cancer and remove it while leaving the surrounding healthy tissue intact. Because this method immediately verifies the complete removal of the cancerous tissue, Mohs surgery offers the highest success rate of all skin cancer treatments – up to 99%. Dr. Herman has provided answers to common questions on her Mohs Surgery FAQs page.
Dr. Herman meticulously performs this outpatient procedure according to the highest standards of quality and safety. Because she performs Mohs surgery in her Miami, Florida office, which is equipped with an on-site surgical suite and laboratory, Dr. Herman immediately prepares and microscopically examines each layer of tissue as it is removed. As a result, in most cases, Dr. Herman completes the surgery in a single day. However, the time required depends on the depth of the tumor and any reconstruction needed.
Dr. Herman begins by administering local anesthesia around the area of the skin cancer. By using local rather than general anesthesia, your recovery time is shorter and typically more comfortable. Dr. Herman then removes the visible tumor. She marks the edges by using colored dyes, and creates a “map” of the specimen.
Using the Mohs micrographic surgery technique, Dr. Herman removes a very thin layer of skin tissue. That tissue is processed onto microscope slides, which Dr. Herman examines to determine whether skin cancer cells are present. If cancerous cells are observed, Dr. Herman identifies and maps the microscopic cancer roots. She then removes an additional layer of tissue only in the area where the skin cancer is present, preserving the healthy skin.
If Dr. Herman detects any evidence of cancer remaining, she meticulously removes another thin layer of tissue from that area. In this way, she ensures that she removes only cancerous tissue, so that the maximum amount of healthy skin is preserved. Dr. Herman continues this process with extreme precision until she identifies healthy, cancer-free skin tissue, referred to as the “clear margins.”
Because skin cancer’s roots can extend beyond the visible tumor, it’s important to remove them to minimize the risk of the cancer recurring. Mohs micrographic surgery’s impressive success rate is accomplished using the following steps:
Dr. Herman injects a local anesthetic into the treatment area.
She removes the visible tumor.
After removing a thin layer of tissue, Dr. Herman cuts it into sections and uses colored dyes to code them and maps the surgical site to correspond to these sections.
She then examines the undersurface and edges of the tissue using a microscope, checking for additional evidence of cancer.
If she detects cancer cells, she removes another layer of tissue specifically from the area where the cells are located, then repeats the process.
Dr. Herman continues surgically removing additional tissue only where cancer cells exist until she no longer detects evidence of cancer.
By limiting the removal of tissue to the location of cancer cells, healthy tissue remains intact.
Dr. Herman has provided the following guidelines to help you prepare for your procedure:
After the cancer has been completely removed, Dr. Herman discusses your options for healing and recovery. These options may include natural healing (granulation), stitching the wound together using a side-to-side closure, skin flap, or graft. Dr. Herman helps you understand your reconstruction options, and then utilizes her extensive experience and exceptional skills to provide you with the optimal outcome.
Dr. Herman is honored as one of Miami’s Top Doctors by Indulge Magazine, highlighting her as one of the city’s few dermatalogic surgeons specializing in Mohs micrographic surgery for skin cancer.
Indulge Top Doc 2017 ▸ Indulge Top Doc 2020 ▸
