Study to Determine if Tissue Scored With a Scalpel Results in Any Noticeable Marks

Prospective Study To Determine Whether Tissue Scoring Results In Noticeable Marks Following Mohs Micrographic Surgery

Status

Completed

Phases

Phase 2Phase 3

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT00367042

Enrollment

Registered

2006-08-22

Start date

2005-07-31

Completion date

2008-07-31

Last updated

2015-04-16

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Skin Cancer

Brief summary

Mohs Micrographic Surgery is a well established method for treatment of cutaneous malignancies. Part of this technique requires marking skin surrounding the tumor. There are two ways of marking the tissue, lightly scoring it with a scalpel or marking it with a surgical marker. This study is to determine if there is a noticeable difference in outcome between patients who have their tissue lightly scored with a scalpel or marked with a surgical marking pen.

Detailed description

Mohs Micrographic Surgery is a well established method utilizing microscopic margin controlled excision for treatment of cutaneous malignancies (See Appendix A). It has the highest cure rate of any of the methods used to treat common cutaneous malignancies and is a proven safe outpatient procedure. Part of the technique requires marking skin surrounding the tumor to correspond with tissue that has been removed and divided into pieces for processing and microscopic examination. Currently there are two established ways of marking the tissue; lightly scoring it with a scalpel or marking it with a surgical marker. Scoring tissue is faster, more accurate, and there is no risk of having the marking washed or rubbed away.

Interventions

DEVICEScalpel for tissue scoring

During Mohs surgery we will compare the outcomes of scarring, to determine whether a mark (with a pen) or a score with a scalpel will receive the best scar.

DEVICESurgical marker for tissue marking

You will be asked to participate, examined, discuss participation have procedure and come in for follow up for photos and check up.

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Masking

SINGLE (Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 65 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Patients who are able to legally consent to study and are scheduled for Mohs Micrographic Surgery to remove their malignancies

Exclusion criteria

* Patients who are unable to legally consent themselves, do not wish to participate or who are not scheduled to undergo Mohs Micrographic Surgery. * Children, those with mental handicaps, pregnant women, prisoners, those with cognitive impairments, and life-threatening diseases will be excluded.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
The goal of the study is to determine if there are any noticeable differences in outcomes between patients who have their skin scored and those who have their skin marked with a surgical marking pen	2 Years

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026