Arizona Mohs Surgery & Dermatology Anir Dhir MD, FACMS, & Shelby Coplen, PA-C

Comprehensive Skin Cancer & Dermatology Care

Quality, Experience, and Compassion

 

Mohs micrographic surgery specialist Mohs micrographic surgery specialist

Who We Are

Arizona Mohs Surgery & Dermatology, PLLC, is a dermatology practice dedicated to the comprehensive evaluation and treatment of skin cancer, psoriasis, rosacea, acne, rashes, and other dermatologic conditions.

Dr. Anir Dhir specializes in Mohs micrographic surgery and the most advanced and elegant reconstructive techniques. He is double board-certified in both Dermatology and Micrographic Dermatologic Surgery.  Shelby Coplen, PA-C, has practiced medical dermatology in Tucson since 2018. She is an expert in skin cancer screenings, non-surgical treatment of skin cancer, and treatment of rashes, psoriasis, rosacea, and acne.

The Arizona Mohs Surgery team is committed to providing the highest quality care in a modern, compassionate, and comfortable environment. Our experienced staff looks forward to taking great care of you.

 

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What Is Mohs Surgery?

The most advanced treatment for skin cancer

Are your providers available to perform skin cancer screening, biopsies, and non-surgical treatment?

Of course.  We would be honored to assist you with evaluation and biopsy of suspicious lesions if not already done by your dermatologist or primary care physician.  We are also happy to perform excisions and prescribe non-surgical treatments when Mohs surgery is not needed.

Shelby Coplen, PA-C, join our experienced team in 2024. Shelby has practiced medical dermatology in Tucson since 2018.  She is an expert in skin cancer screenings, non-surgical treatment of skin cancer, and treatment of rashes, psoriasis, rosacea, and acne. 

What types of skin cancers are treated with Mohs surgery?

Mohs surgery is the gold standard for skin cancers occurring in more cosmetically and functionally critical areas such as the face, ears, scalp, neck, hands, feet, and shins. Larger and more aggressive cancers in non-facial locations, as well as some “recurrent’ tumors (those that have failed other therapies), are also appropriate candidates for Mohs surgery. Mohs surgery is also the best approach for skin cancers that are poorly defined, arise in a scar, grow rapidly, or occur in a patient with a compromised immune system in most locations. Mohs surgery is generally not needed for thin, small cancers in non-critical locations because these can be successfully managed with simpler techniques.  Our team is happy to assist patients with cancers qualifying for Mohs surgery, simpler excision, or non-surgical therapies.

What is the difference between Mohs surgery and other frozen sections?

In Mohs surgery, one physician functions as both surgeon and pathologist. If a physician removes a skin cancer and sends the specimen to another lab or pathologist for analysis, he or she is not performing Mohs surgery for two reasons:

  1. a single physician is not correlating the clinical and microscopic pictures for maximum accuracy, and
  2. only a small portion of the margins is examined instead of 100% of the true 3-D circumferential margin as with Mohs surgery.
Am I in good hands?

Absolutely.  Unlike many physicians performing Mohs surgery in Tucson, Dr. Dhir completed a dedicated and prestigious American College of Mohs Surgery (ACMS) accredited fellowship prior to entering private practice in 1999.  He was then the single busiest Mohs surgeon in Kentucky for many years prior to opening Arizona Mohs Surgery. He has performed nearly 42,000 Mohs procedures with a cure rate over 99.5% and an infection rate of only 0.2%.  He carries subspecialty board-certification in Micrographic Dermatologic Surgery.

Dr. Dhir is a nationally recognized expert in both Mohs surgery and facial reconstruction. Since 2003, his colleagues have repeatedly elected him to both Best Doctors in America and Castle Connolly's Top Doctors - recognitions that place Dr. Dhir in the top 4 to 7% of all U.S. board-certified physicians, respectively.

How long will it take?

Most patients spend 3 to 5 hours with us. Much of that is “downtime” where you rest comfortably while waiting on our team to prepare frozen Mohs sections and read the slides to ensure clear surgical margins. We encourage patients to bring reading materials to pass the time, and we also provide Wi-Fi access so that you may watch a movie or surf the internet on your own laptop computer, phone, or iPad. Please note that surgeries for larger, neglected, aggressive, recurrent, or mid-facial cancers may take longer, particularly if multiple stages are needed to clear the tumor and/or more advanced reconstruction is needed.

The majority of wound closures are performed in our office. Occasionally, we may need to utilize an outside surgical specialist to perform the post-Mohs reconstruction if the tumor turns out to be larger, deeper, or more complex than initially anticipated. If an outside surgical specialist is needed, the reconstruction may take place on the same day or on subsequent days. Please note that it is safe to delay the reconstruction, and that it’s possible that hospitalization may be needed for extensive reconstructions.

Are you able to treat very large or advanced skin cancers?

Mohs Surgery is a very accurate, office-based, outpatient procedure performed entirely under local anesthesia.  It is best suited to small- to medium-sized skin cancers that have not yet invaded into important underlying tissues such as muscle, cartilage, nerves, or bone.  Advanced tumors, those that have failed multiple previous procedures, or those at higher risk of deep invasion or metastasis are often most safely and effectively treated by a hospital-based head and neck surgical oncologist.  These advanced surgical cancer specialists have sophisticated training and expertise in larger surgeries and lymph node biopsies.  They also have access to anesthesiologists and other specialists like Medical Oncology and Radiation Oncology who are often needed for more advanced skin cancers.

Do you perform Mohs surgery for melanoma?

The majority of Mohs surgeons and dermatopathologists believe that permanent (formalin-fixed) tissue sections allow more accurate margin analysis for melanoma than Mohs frozen sections, even if additional MART-1 immunostaining is done. This is not an issue for basal and squamous cell carcinomas, where frozen sections are universally accepted and allow more efficient, same day analysis. Therefore, we follow current NCCN surgical margin guidelines which state "the gold standard for histologic assessment of excised melanoma is use of permanent sections". Our specimens are evaluated within 24 - 48 hours by a board-certified dermatopathologist. NCCN guidelines also suggest that the surgeon consider delaying closure of melanoma excisions until margin analysis has been completed if a flap or graft may be required. This means that some melanoma surgeries may require 2 or more visits to ensure maximum accuracy.

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Meet Doctor Dhir

Photo of Doctor Anir Dhir

Anir Dhir, MD, FACMS

Anir Dhir, M.D., is a fellowship-trained and board-certified Mohs micrographic surgeon who is dedicated to excellence.  Since 1999, Dr. Dhir has performed nearly 42,000 Mohs surgeries with a cure rate of over 99.5%. He is a Life Member of the American College of Mohs Surgery and has been repeatedly elected by his colleagues over the past twenty one years to both Best Doctors in America and Castle Connolly's Top Doctors - honors given to only the top 4% and 7% of all U.S. Physicians, respectively.

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See What Our Clients Are Saying

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Thank you for the wonderful care you provided for me in the past weeks. I so appreciate you and value your friendship of the many past years. You are truly a great professional who's caring and skills is beyond compare.

—C
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I just want to thank all of you for being so nice to me and treating me really good.  It’s people like you all that make life worth living and make people want to go on.  Again, thank you for everything you done for me.  I will never forget your kindness.  Love all of you so much.  Thank you!

—KR
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Thank you for the opportunity to work here and all that I have learned. Thank you for always standing up for what is right and for always defending the employees. I appreciate that very much! I wish you all the best!

—MS
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To you, my dear Dr. Dhir - your presence exudes experience and competence.  You have an incredible gift of being personable (no more than that - charming), real, yet focused with an incredible work ethic.

—JM
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We just wanted to say thank you - not only for your professionalism and expert care - but for your compassion. I've never been blessed with a more competent physician and as you know, we've seen our share. There will be a special place in heaven for you but just know for now that there are people that owe your their life - but you already have our hearts! Bless you Doc! We love you!

—PJ and JJ
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The care that you and your staff showed me when I had my nose surgery was phenomenal. I have never been to a doctor’s office that showed so much compassion for his patient and your staff was fantastic, too!

—ML
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You pros did a dandy job on my surgery this month:  no pain, no bleeding, no scar, no bad news. :-)

—TK
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You are truly a miracle worker! Thank you so very much for taking such good care of GW. We appreciate all of you so much.

—JB
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Thank you for allowing me to observe your surgeries and 'talking shop' through the procedures for my benefit. Your sincere concern for your patients' comfort, as exhibited by your extraordinary bedside manner, truly sets a new, higher level for me to strive toward. I will strive for the highest mark, and I appreciate your example and training.

—TB, Medical Student