A prospective evaluation of the incidence of complications associated with Mohs micrographic surgery.

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Abstract
OUTPATIENT SURGERY is currently under increasing scrutiny in the popular media. During the past several years, a purported lack of safety associated with outpatient surgery has been frequently sensationalized in national lay publications. An example of this theatrical hyperbole was provided by Ellison Pierce (executive director of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation, Pittsburgh, Pa) in a front-page article from a recent USA Today issue, in which he stated that "surgery in doctors' offices is rampant with death."1 While such inflammatory claims might commonly be interpreted by many physicians as having political or economic rather than scientific basis, the American public is increasingly calling upon the medical establishment to provide more error-free care. Accordingly, many states are currently considering significant legislative restrictions on the practice of office-based surgery. It is critical to the continuing practice of outpatient physicians, including dermatologists, that any potential issues regarding patient safety are thoroughly investigated. It is of great concern, therefore, that many highly generalized and inflammatory claims alleging patient endangerment in outpatient treatment facilities have not been adequately supported by unbiased scientific data. By properly assessing the safety of commonly performed cutaneous surgical procedures, dermatologic surgeons should be able to legitimately defend their ability to continue to provide appropriate care in an office-based setting.