Do I only need a support person to pick me up after MOHS surgery?

Wow! What a variety. The hospital here where most of the MOHs are done requires the companion to remain through the procedure, in case something goes wrong. In my case, it was done by a "traveling" doctor, based in Birmingham, some 100 miles distant, but it was done in my dermatologist's office, with a temporary lab set up in an adjacent room. My wife was required to stay. IDK the reason, but since my lesion began a half inch from the corner of my right eye and arced up to the middle of my forehead, bandaging could easily have obstructed my vision. Funny, but a year before my esophageal cancer was dxed, that same dermatologist stood in her office and told me that the basal cell was a sign that I might be susceptible to other cancers. I didn't know it, but I was also standing there with the throat cancer...

@vic83 Thank you for sharing your experiences. It helps to hear how people have handled various situations.

Hospitals sometimes have different rules than clinics do.

@pjs7, how did everything go?

I had Mohs surgery back in March 2026. I had to travel 30 miles to have it done. I was told I needed someone to drive me home. It is medical protocol. Thankfully I was able to find someone to ride along with me. He came in sat down and waited til I was done. Walked out with me to the car. I got in on the driver’s side and drove home. We actually stopped at KFC (drive thru) before heading home, to get a bucket of chicken to take home for lunch at my Mom’s. I was starving!!! 🤭 if it had been done in the same city where I lived I would of not brought someone along as it would have been done only 2 blocks away from my house. But that is a secret. 😉

@colleenyoung My procedure isn’t until October 6 but I will for sure report back and let you know how things went. Thank you.

@grammato3 For one of my colonoscopies, I had a friend who was on her way to work, drop me off at the medical center. I had prepped for the procedure, and was prepared to take a taxi home. When the intake gal found out it was a public transportation ferrying me home, and not a known acquaintance, they threw a hissy fit. My adamant response was, "then do the procedure without anesthesia and I will take a taxi home", which they weren't prepared for. But that is what we did.

Having a MOHS procedure, so much is depending on just where the bandaging will be, since the area is usually a lot larger than just where any removal is done. My one MOHS last year involved both eyebrows, and ended up with the outer half of left eyebrow gone, and a lot of right eyebrow down towards my eye. As I was alone, awake, oriented and not nauseous, they bandaged everything carefully and I drove the 40 miles home. Slept with a neck roll pillow on the recliner that night.

If a patient has someone with them, for nothing else but moral support, that's great!
Ginger

@gingerw: Did you know it's fairly routine in countries outside the US to perform colonoscopies without anesthetic? You're proof it can be done!

In the US, there is tendency to believe that people will avoid routine screening colonoscopies if they weren't accompanied by the "pain free" option, and for whatever reason, anesthesia has become the "standard of care" for procedure as anesthesia is basically bundled into the cost. Colon cancer is alarmingly on the rise, especially among younger individuals (it's now the leading cause of cancer deaths for people under 50) so providers are trying not to discourage patients from undergoing this important screening. From a medical perspective, should one or more polyps be detected for removal, it is generally easier to do so on a sedated patient.

This is definitely a conversation worth having prior to this procedure if a concern - for transportation purposes or otherwise. And I wish we could all package your inner fortitude!