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The following is a summary of “Patient-reported quality of life and aesthetic satisfaction continues to improve for 1-year after Mohs surgery: A Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study,” published in the March 2025 issue of Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology by Veldhuizen et al. 

Despite the increasing emphasis on patient-centered care, there remains a scarcity of multicenter prospective studies examining satisfaction following skin cancer surgery.  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to evaluate trends in aesthetic satisfaction, symptoms, and QoL over 1 year in individuals with facial skin cancer.  

They enrolled individuals with facial skin cancer who underwent surgery at 4 hospitals across the United States. A total of 990 individuals were included. The FACE-Q Skin Cancer questionnaire was utilized to assess outcomes before surgery and at post-surgical intervals of 2 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year.  

The results showed increased satisfaction with FACE-Q Skin Cancer scales over 1 year. Factors influencing outcomes included sex, age, history of facial skin cancer, cosmetic surgery, defect size, and cancer location. Males reported higher satisfaction with appearance (P =0.003) and scars (P <0.001), along with reduced psychosocial distress (P <0.001). Larger defects correlated with greater psychosocial distress (P =0.037) and lower scar appraisal (P =0.008). Individuals with nasal skin cancer had lower satisfaction with appearance (P =0.026) and scars (P <0.001), along with higher psychosocial distress (P =0.004) and increased cancer worry (P =0.045). Those with periocular cancer exhibited increased cancer worry (P =0.004) and reconstruction type did not affect satisfaction.  

Investigators concluded the patient-reported outcomes in dermatologic surgery were extremely affected by clinical and patient characteristics. 

Source: jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(25)00443-8/abstract