Washington — Former President Joe Biden recently underwent skin cancer surgery, a spokeswoman confirmed to CBS News.
The spokeswoman said Biden “recently had Mohs surgery.” She didn’t immediately provide any other details.
The procedure involves cutting away thin layers of skin until only cancer-free tissue remains in the treated area.
Biden was spotted with a wound on the right side of his head in recent days, in photos and videos published by Inside Edition and the New York Post.
In 2023, Biden had a small skin lesion with cancerous tissue removed from his chest during a physical exam. Further testing confirmed the lesion was basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer. The White House physician said at the time that “all cancerous tissue was successfully removed.”
Separately, earlier this year, Biden’s office said he had been diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.
What is Mohs surgery?
Mohs surgery is a precise technique in which a doctor removes a thin layer of tissue and analyzes it under a microscope for cancer cells, according to the Mayo Clinic. The process is repeated until the tissue samples are cancer-free. The procedure aims to conserve as much healthy tissue around the affected area as possible.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the surgery is beneficial for skin cancers that have a high risk of recurrence, have edges that are hard to define or grow quickly.
Mohs surgery is considered the most effective technique for treating basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.