How does a doc remove a small basal cell carcinoma from the ear?

Many different ways: Your doctor can successfully treat small basal cell cancers by a variety of methods including creams, freezing (cryosurgery), burning it off or surgically removing it. Which one he/she chooses depends on many things like how s/he trained, how deep it is and where it is on the ear. That choice is best left to your doctor. You don't tell your barber what kind of scissors to use, do you?

Dr Ali and another doctor agreed

MOHs microsurgery: Removal of a small lesion is not disfiguring. The goal is to remove it with clear margins and mohs micro surgery does that well. It has the highest chance of cure. If lesion is larger and cosmetically may be non pleasing we can use radiation to cure it. The control rate with radiation is slightly less. At times there is creams that may be appropriate to get rid of very early stage disease.

Options: While mohs surgery is an option for removing basal cell carcinoma on an ear it certainly isn't the only option. Excision with frozen section by any of a number of surgical specialists yields a 95% cure rate while mohs, almost always done by a dermatologist boasts a whopping 98% cure rate. This comes from the dermatology literature.