Floaters in mohs micrographic surgery

Murad Alam; Anjali D. Shah; Sana Ali; Mutahir Rauf; Michael Nodzenski; Omer Ibrahim; Jillian H. Swary; Emily Poon; Sumaira Aasi; Ashish Bhatia; Hayes Gladstone; Steven Goulder; Vivek Iyengar; Nanette J. Liégeois; Kishwer S. Nehal; Marie Tudisco; Ryan W. Ahern; John G. Albertini; Anne Chapas; David Cowan; Montgomery Gillard; Hubert T. Greenway; Ashraf M. Hassanein; Nathaniel J. Jellinek; Jeremy Kampp; John D. Kayal; Ravi S. Krishnan; Erick A. Mafong; Ronald M. Mann; Isaac M. Neuhaus; Désireé Ratner; Ally Khan Somani; Emily P. Tierney; Robert S. Tomsick; Summer Youker; Natalie Kim; Simon Yoo

doi:10.1111/dsu.12258

Floaters in mohs micrographic surgery

Murad Alam^*, Anjali D. Shah, Sana Ali, Mutahir Rauf, Michael Nodzenski, Omer Ibrahim, Jillian H. Swary, Emily Poon, Sumaira Aasi, Ashish Bhatia, Hayes Gladstone, Steven Goulder, Vivek Iyengar, Nanette J. Liégeois, Kishwer S. Nehal, Marie Tudisco, Ryan W. Ahern, John G. Albertini, Anne Chapas, David CowanMontgomery Gillard, Hubert T. Greenway, Ashraf M. Hassanein, Nathaniel J. Jellinek, Jeremy Kampp, John D. Kayal, Ravi S. Krishnan, Erick A. Mafong, Ronald M. Mann, Isaac M. Neuhaus, Désireé Ratner, Ally Khan Somani, Emily P. Tierney, Robert S. Tomsick, Summer Youker, Natalie Kim, Simon Yoo

^*Corresponding author for this work

Dermatology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Floaters are dislodged pieces of tumor tissue than can obscure Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) frozen sections and confound their interpretation. Objective: To understand the common causes of floaters and identify management strategies. Methods: An initial virtual consensus conference of Mohs surgeons based on a 60-item questionnaire. Data were validated in interviews with randomly selected Mohs surgeons. Results: Based on retrospective reporting of 230 surgeon-years and 170,404 cases of MMS by 26 surgeons, the mean rate of floaters per tumor treated was 1.8%, and the rate of floaters per tissue block was 0.70%. Not wiping blades between cuts when a stage is separated into subunits can predispose to floaters. There was also strong consensus that basal cell carcinomas, ulcerated tumors, and tissue from the first stage were more likely to yield floaters. There is little consensus on how to manage floaters, with possibilities including taking additional sections, taking an additional stage, or simply noting the floater. Conclusion: Floaters are not rare and can complicate MMS margin assessment. There is significant expert consensus regarding the causes of floaters and the tissue features that may predispose to them. Floaters may be prevented by minimizing their likely causes. There is less consensus on what to do with a floater.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1317-1322
Number of pages	6
Journal	Dermatologic Surgery
Volume	39
Issue number	9
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/dsu.12258
State	Published - Sep 2013

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Surgery
Dermatology

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10.1111/dsu.12258

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Alam, M., Shah, A. D., Ali, S., Rauf, M., Nodzenski, M., Ibrahim, O., Swary, J. H., Poon, E., Aasi, S., Bhatia, A., Gladstone, H., Goulder, S., Iyengar, V., Liégeois, N. J., Nehal, K. S., Tudisco, M., Ahern, R. W., Albertini, J. G., Chapas, A., ... Yoo, S. (2013). Floaters in mohs micrographic surgery. Dermatologic Surgery, 39(9), 1317-1322. https://doi.org/10.1111/dsu.12258

@article{fa5f0edb860047b7843b4e3f8d026234,

title = "Floaters in mohs micrographic surgery",

abstract = "Background: Floaters are dislodged pieces of tumor tissue than can obscure Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) frozen sections and confound their interpretation. Objective: To understand the common causes of floaters and identify management strategies. Methods: An initial virtual consensus conference of Mohs surgeons based on a 60-item questionnaire. Data were validated in interviews with randomly selected Mohs surgeons. Results: Based on retrospective reporting of 230 surgeon-years and 170,404 cases of MMS by 26 surgeons, the mean rate of floaters per tumor treated was 1.8%, and the rate of floaters per tissue block was 0.70%. Not wiping blades between cuts when a stage is separated into subunits can predispose to floaters. There was also strong consensus that basal cell carcinomas, ulcerated tumors, and tissue from the first stage were more likely to yield floaters. There is little consensus on how to manage floaters, with possibilities including taking additional sections, taking an additional stage, or simply noting the floater. Conclusion: Floaters are not rare and can complicate MMS margin assessment. There is significant expert consensus regarding the causes of floaters and the tissue features that may predispose to them. Floaters may be prevented by minimizing their likely causes. There is less consensus on what to do with a floater.",

author = "Murad Alam and Shah, {Anjali D.} and Sana Ali and Mutahir Rauf and Michael Nodzenski and Omer Ibrahim and Swary, {Jillian H.} and Emily Poon and Sumaira Aasi and Ashish Bhatia and Hayes Gladstone and Steven Goulder and Vivek Iyengar and Li{\'e}geois, {Nanette J.} and Nehal, {Kishwer S.} and Marie Tudisco and Ahern, {Ryan W.} and Albertini, {John G.} and Anne Chapas and David Cowan and Montgomery Gillard and Greenway, {Hubert T.} and Hassanein, {Ashraf M.} and Jellinek, {Nathaniel J.} and Jeremy Kampp and Kayal, {John D.} and Krishnan, {Ravi S.} and Mafong, {Erick A.} and Mann, {Ronald M.} and Neuhaus, {Isaac M.} and D{\'e}sire{\'e} Ratner and Somani, {Ally Khan} and Tierney, {Emily P.} and Tomsick, {Robert S.} and Summer Youker and Natalie Kim and Simon Yoo",

year = "2013",

month = sep,

doi = "10.1111/dsu.12258",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "39",

pages = "1317--1322",

journal = "Journal of Dermatologic Surgery and Oncology",

issn = "1076-0512",

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number = "9",

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Alam, M, Shah, AD, Ali, S, Rauf, M, Nodzenski, M, Ibrahim, O, Swary, JH, Poon, E, Aasi, S, Bhatia, A, Gladstone, H, Goulder, S, Iyengar, V, Liégeois, NJ, Nehal, KS, Tudisco, M, Ahern, RW, Albertini, JG, Chapas, A, Cowan, D, Gillard, M, Greenway, HT, Hassanein, AM, Jellinek, NJ, Kampp, J, Kayal, JD, Krishnan, RS, Mafong, EA, Mann, RM, Neuhaus, IM, Ratner, D, Somani, AK, Tierney, EP, Tomsick, RS, Youker, S, Kim, N & Yoo, S 2013, 'Floaters in mohs micrographic surgery', Dermatologic Surgery, vol. 39, no. 9, pp. 1317-1322. https://doi.org/10.1111/dsu.12258

TY - JOUR

T1 - Floaters in mohs micrographic surgery

AU - Alam, Murad

AU - Shah, Anjali D.

AU - Ali, Sana

AU - Rauf, Mutahir

AU - Nodzenski, Michael

AU - Ibrahim, Omer

AU - Swary, Jillian H.

AU - Poon, Emily

AU - Aasi, Sumaira

AU - Bhatia, Ashish

AU - Gladstone, Hayes

AU - Goulder, Steven

AU - Iyengar, Vivek

AU - Liégeois, Nanette J.

AU - Nehal, Kishwer S.

AU - Tudisco, Marie

AU - Ahern, Ryan W.

AU - Albertini, John G.

AU - Chapas, Anne

AU - Cowan, David

AU - Gillard, Montgomery

AU - Greenway, Hubert T.

AU - Hassanein, Ashraf M.

AU - Jellinek, Nathaniel J.

AU - Kampp, Jeremy

AU - Kayal, John D.

AU - Krishnan, Ravi S.

AU - Mafong, Erick A.

AU - Mann, Ronald M.

AU - Neuhaus, Isaac M.

AU - Ratner, Désireé

AU - Somani, Ally Khan

AU - Tierney, Emily P.

AU - Tomsick, Robert S.

AU - Youker, Summer

AU - Kim, Natalie

AU - Yoo, Simon

PY - 2013/9

Y1 - 2013/9

N2 - Background: Floaters are dislodged pieces of tumor tissue than can obscure Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) frozen sections and confound their interpretation. Objective: To understand the common causes of floaters and identify management strategies. Methods: An initial virtual consensus conference of Mohs surgeons based on a 60-item questionnaire. Data were validated in interviews with randomly selected Mohs surgeons. Results: Based on retrospective reporting of 230 surgeon-years and 170,404 cases of MMS by 26 surgeons, the mean rate of floaters per tumor treated was 1.8%, and the rate of floaters per tissue block was 0.70%. Not wiping blades between cuts when a stage is separated into subunits can predispose to floaters. There was also strong consensus that basal cell carcinomas, ulcerated tumors, and tissue from the first stage were more likely to yield floaters. There is little consensus on how to manage floaters, with possibilities including taking additional sections, taking an additional stage, or simply noting the floater. Conclusion: Floaters are not rare and can complicate MMS margin assessment. There is significant expert consensus regarding the causes of floaters and the tissue features that may predispose to them. Floaters may be prevented by minimizing their likely causes. There is less consensus on what to do with a floater.

AB - Background: Floaters are dislodged pieces of tumor tissue than can obscure Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) frozen sections and confound their interpretation. Objective: To understand the common causes of floaters and identify management strategies. Methods: An initial virtual consensus conference of Mohs surgeons based on a 60-item questionnaire. Data were validated in interviews with randomly selected Mohs surgeons. Results: Based on retrospective reporting of 230 surgeon-years and 170,404 cases of MMS by 26 surgeons, the mean rate of floaters per tumor treated was 1.8%, and the rate of floaters per tissue block was 0.70%. Not wiping blades between cuts when a stage is separated into subunits can predispose to floaters. There was also strong consensus that basal cell carcinomas, ulcerated tumors, and tissue from the first stage were more likely to yield floaters. There is little consensus on how to manage floaters, with possibilities including taking additional sections, taking an additional stage, or simply noting the floater. Conclusion: Floaters are not rare and can complicate MMS margin assessment. There is significant expert consensus regarding the causes of floaters and the tissue features that may predispose to them. Floaters may be prevented by minimizing their likely causes. There is less consensus on what to do with a floater.

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DO - 10.1111/dsu.12258

M3 - Article

C2 - 23809022

AN - SCOPUS:84883553340

SN - 1076-0512

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JO - Journal of Dermatologic Surgery and Oncology

JF - Journal of Dermatologic Surgery and Oncology

IS - 9

ER -

Floaters in mohs micrographic surgery

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