Physician Perspectives
Every spring, Mohs surgeons from across the country gather for the American College of Mohs Surgery Annual Meeting. I've been attending nearly every year since my residency at Mayo Clinic, and this meeting has become one of the most important weeks on my calendar. Here's why.
The American College of Mohs Surgery (ACMS) Annual Meeting is the premier educational conference for fellowship-trained Mohs surgeons in the United States. Each year, it brings together hundreds of dermatologic surgeons, researchers, and trainees for several days of lectures, live surgical demonstrations, poster presentations, and hands-on workshops. Topics range from the latest advances in skin cancer treatment and reconstructive techniques to practice management and emerging technologies.
For Mohs surgeons, there simply isn't a more important annual gathering. It's where the cutting edge of our specialty is presented, debated, and refined.
I first attended the ACMS Annual Meeting in 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona, during my residency at Mayo Clinic. I was there as a trainee, presenting cadaveric research on the depth of the supraorbital nerve and its implications for dermatologic surgery. That experience set the tone for what this meeting would come to mean to me.
Since then, I have attended nearly every annual meeting. In the years that followed, the conference has taken me to San Antonio, Orlando, San Francisco, Chicago, Baltimore, Seattle, Phoenix again, Nashville, and soon Austin. I've also attended ACMS regional meetings, including one in Napa Valley, to broaden my exposure to different perspectives in the field.
The only years I missed were 2020, when the meeting was cancelled due to the pandemic, and a couple of years when personal and professional commitments kept me away. Even in 2021, when the meeting went virtual, I made sure to participate. Attending this meeting isn't something I do out of obligation. I do it because it genuinely makes me a better surgeon for my patients.
One of the things I'm most proud of is the arc my involvement with ACMS has taken over the years. I started as a resident presenting posters. In my early career, I gave oral presentations on topics like discordant biopsy diagnoses. Even in 2020, when the meeting was cancelled, my clinical pearls abstract on ear reconstruction was published electronically.
In 2025, I was invited to the meeting as faculty for the first time. I delivered a lecture on helical rim reconstruction techniques as part of the "Framing the Face" session in Nashville. It was a full-circle moment: standing in front of the same community that had shaped my training, now contributing to the education of the next generation of Mohs surgeons.
This year's gathering is the 58th Annual Meeting of the American College of Mohs Surgery, held April 30 – May 3 at the JW Marriott Austin in Austin, Texas. I'll be returning as faculty once again: presenting an ePoster on a pilot study exploring how large language model AI agents can assist with Mohs operative note documentation, and moderating a reconstructive surgery session. The opportunity to share ideas at the intersection of dermatologic surgery and emerging technology is something I find deeply exciting.
Patients sometimes ask me how I stay current with the latest techniques and research. The ACMS meeting is a big part of that answer. Medicine, and dermatologic surgery in particular, is always evolving. New approaches to reconstruction, advances in tumor margin assessment, refinements in patient care protocols: these are all things that get presented and discussed at this meeting years before they become common practice.
When I return from the annual meeting each spring, I come back with fresh ideas, new techniques I've seen demonstrated, and renewed enthusiasm for the work we do. That translates directly into the care I provide at Dermatology Partners. Whether it's a more elegant reconstructive approach for a patient's ear after Mohs surgery or a more efficient workflow that reduces your time in the office, the benefits of ongoing education are real and tangible.
I believe that attending meetings like this isn't optional for a surgeon who wants to deliver the best possible care. It's part of the job. My patients deserve a surgeon who is engaged with the latest thinking in the field, who learns from colleagues around the country, and who brings that knowledge home to Rochester.
That's what the ACMS Annual Meeting represents to me. Not just a conference, but a commitment: to my specialty, to my colleagues, and most importantly, to the patients who trust me with their care.
— Dr. Kevin Christensen
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