Moles and lumps:
Most moles don’t need treatment. If you’re self-conscious about a mole, you could try makeup to help conceal it. If you have hair growing from a mole, you might try clipping it close to the skin’s surface or plucking it. Anytime you cut or irritate a mole, keep the area clean. See your doctor if the mole doesn’t heal.
You might also consider surgically removing a mole if it bothers you or if you notice suspicious changes in it. Mole removal takes only a short time and is usually done on an outpatient basis. Your doctor numbs the area around the mole and cuts it out, along with a margin of healthy skin if necessary. Then they can close the wound in the appropriate way like suturing.
There are different ways of removing a mole according to size, location, possible diagnosis, risk of scar and other factors.
The procedure in general involves an injection of a local anaesthetic to numb the area. The injection is a bit painful and after that, the patient can feel something happening but no pain. According to the agreement, the lesion will be removed and the wound closed and dressed. We strongly recommend that all removed samples be sent to the pathology service for further testing under the microscope (histopathology) to make sure of the exact nature of the lesion
The same principles apply to lumps and bumps (fat which is called “Lipoma” or cyst-like Sebaceous cyst) under the skin.
The common side effects of these operations are Bleeding, Infection, Scar, the Chance that the lesion can come back (either close to the scar or somewhere else) and the need for re-operation the pathology report recommends wider excision.
The rare side effects are discolouration of the skin on the operation side, and the development of raised & overgrown healing tissue which is called hypertrophic scar or keloid. This is more common in darker skin colour individuals. Other side effects include altered sensation or numbness at the operation site which normally improves over a few months.
The different ways of removal of a mole include:
Excision: removal of the lesion with some normal margin like an ellipse and then close the wound
Shave Excision: Shaving the raised lesion flush with the skin around it
Curettage & Cauterization: scrapping the lesion flush with the skin around and using electricity to burn the bed. This procedure can be done up to 3 times in the same place in a single session.
Punch Excision: normally used for very small lesions
Complex excisions may require coverage with a flap or graft for closure.
We can offer a free consultation to discuss and plan the best strategy if you want to remove the lesions that are causing problems for you.
