Severance Hospital surpasses 5,000 cases of Moz microsophagy surgery for the first time in a single hospital in Korea
Nov 06, 2025
On the 3rd, Severance Hospital's dermatological cancer clinic achieved 5,000 cases of 'Mohs microesophageal surgery (Mohs surgery)' for the first time in a single hospital in Korea.
The 5000th 83-year-old female patient A was diagnosed with melanoma in her left upper lip. Due to the burden of surgery due to old age and concerns about lip deformation, I visited the skin cancer clinic at Severance Hospital. Mr. A underwent a moz surgery by Professor Oh Byung-ho of the Department of Dermatology at Severance Hospital. Mr. A was able to preserve normal skin as much as possible through a moz surgery that precisely removes only cancer areas, and he was discharged healthy with satisfactory results in terms of function and beauty.
Recently, skin cancer has been increasing due to the increase in leisure activities, lifestyle changes, and the increase in the elderly population. Skin cancer is generally treated with extensive resection, cryotherapy, or radiation. However, due to the high recurrence rate, Moz surgery, which tracks and removes the roots of cancer, is recognized as an international standard treatment.
Moz surgery is known to have the highest cure rate among skin cancer treatments. Unlike general extensive resection, it is a method of resecting including the normal skin around the cancer tissue to a minimum, and then checking and mapping all the resected surfaces with a microscope to additionally resect only the areas where cancer cells remain. Through this process, it is possible to reduce scars by increasing the cure rate and minimizing the loss of normal skin, and is evaluated as an optimized treatment for skin cancer in the face area.
Severance Hospital's dermatological cancer clinic has surpassed 5,000 cases in three years since it began its first moz surgery in July 2000 and achieved 1,000 cases in 2013, 3,000 cases in 2020, and 4,000 cases in 2022.
Severance Hospital Skin Cancer Clinic is leading the development of skin cancer treatment as a global leading organization for moz surgery. Moz surgery, which was mainly applied to basal cell cancer and skin flat cell cancer, was extended to various rare skin cancers such as skin melanoma and raised fibrosarcoma for the first time in Korea to achieve excellent treatment results. In particular, Professor Oh Byung-ho's 0.8mm thickness, which suggested the standard for conservative surgery without cutting melanoma on nails, was recently reflected in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and Japan's skin cancer treatment guidelines.
In addition, a close multidisciplinary treatment system has been established with various departments such as pathology, oncology, radiation oncology, and plastic surgery to increase the accuracy of skin cancer diagnosis and postoperative cure rates. Every year, education programs are operated for dermatologists at home and abroad in the United States, Thailand, and the Philippines to spread the latest techniques of moz surgery.
Professor Oh Byung-ho said, "The Skin Cancer Clinic at Severance Hospital is running a 'Black Mellitus Rapid Treatment Program' that begins treatment within a week after prompt appointment and treatment for melanoma patients with high mortality rates. We will continue to make efforts not only to cure melanoma, but also to provide functional and cosmetic satisfaction to patients with the treatment area."
Meanwhile, Professor Oh Byung-ho is the only dermatologist in Korea certified by the American College of Mohs Surgery and leads the standard of skin cancer surgery in Korea by conducting more than 600 skin cancer surgeries every year.
The 5000th 83-year-old female patient A was diagnosed with melanoma in her left upper lip. Due to the burden of surgery due to old age and concerns about lip deformation, I visited the skin cancer clinic at Severance Hospital. Mr. A underwent a moz surgery by Professor Oh Byung-ho of the Department of Dermatology at Severance Hospital. Mr. A was able to preserve normal skin as much as possible through a moz surgery that precisely removes only cancer areas, and he was discharged healthy with satisfactory results in terms of function and beauty.
Recently, skin cancer has been increasing due to the increase in leisure activities, lifestyle changes, and the increase in the elderly population. Skin cancer is generally treated with extensive resection, cryotherapy, or radiation. However, due to the high recurrence rate, Moz surgery, which tracks and removes the roots of cancer, is recognized as an international standard treatment.
Moz surgery is known to have the highest cure rate among skin cancer treatments. Unlike general extensive resection, it is a method of resecting including the normal skin around the cancer tissue to a minimum, and then checking and mapping all the resected surfaces with a microscope to additionally resect only the areas where cancer cells remain. Through this process, it is possible to reduce scars by increasing the cure rate and minimizing the loss of normal skin, and is evaluated as an optimized treatment for skin cancer in the face area.
Severance Hospital's dermatological cancer clinic has surpassed 5,000 cases in three years since it began its first moz surgery in July 2000 and achieved 1,000 cases in 2013, 3,000 cases in 2020, and 4,000 cases in 2022.
Severance Hospital Skin Cancer Clinic is leading the development of skin cancer treatment as a global leading organization for moz surgery. Moz surgery, which was mainly applied to basal cell cancer and skin flat cell cancer, was extended to various rare skin cancers such as skin melanoma and raised fibrosarcoma for the first time in Korea to achieve excellent treatment results. In particular, Professor Oh Byung-ho's 0.8mm thickness, which suggested the standard for conservative surgery without cutting melanoma on nails, was recently reflected in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and Japan's skin cancer treatment guidelines.
In addition, a close multidisciplinary treatment system has been established with various departments such as pathology, oncology, radiation oncology, and plastic surgery to increase the accuracy of skin cancer diagnosis and postoperative cure rates. Every year, education programs are operated for dermatologists at home and abroad in the United States, Thailand, and the Philippines to spread the latest techniques of moz surgery.
Professor Oh Byung-ho said, "The Skin Cancer Clinic at Severance Hospital is running a 'Black Mellitus Rapid Treatment Program' that begins treatment within a week after prompt appointment and treatment for melanoma patients with high mortality rates. We will continue to make efforts not only to cure melanoma, but also to provide functional and cosmetic satisfaction to patients with the treatment area."
Meanwhile, Professor Oh Byung-ho is the only dermatologist in Korea certified by the American College of Mohs Surgery and leads the standard of skin cancer surgery in Korea by conducting more than 600 skin cancer surgeries every year.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
