Background: Over 1 million skin cancer diagnoses are made each year. Although patients experience stress from the diagnosis, surgical management may cause additional anxiety reducing outcome and satisfaction scores. The authors sought to better understand the impact of local (local anesthesia [LA]) versus intravenous (IV) anesthesia, with the goal of optimizing treatment plans.

Methods: Patients who underwent Mohs micrographic surgery and subsequent reconstruction from 2019 to 2022 completed a survey evaluating satisfaction, pain, and anxiety at 1-week postop. Anesthesia type during reconstruction determined grouping, and analysis between the 2 groups was performed.