Can laser remove moles?

Laser treatment is most commonly used to remove flat, benign skin lesions such as lentigines (also known as “age spots”) and angiomas (small, benign tumours made up of blood vessels). It can also be used to remove capillaries, which are small blood vessels that are visible through the skin.

‍In certain cases, laser can be used to remove flat or raised moles, as long as they have been examined by a qualified skin cancer doctor and diagnosed as benign. Certain types of laser can be useful for removing moles in people at high risk of scarring from other techniques.

Mole removal surgery is possible using laser or IPL. It’s most often used to remove pigmented skin lesions that aren’t actually moles, for example pigmented lentigines (also known as “age spots” or freckles) which are common on the face, chest and hands. Angiomas (often visible as bright red dots) and telangiectasia (network of fine red blood vessels) also respond to laser treatment, usually leaving little to no trace. It works well for pigmented flat moles and usually leaves no scar.

Because the laser penetrates a short distance into the skin, it may treat only the surface pigmentation of a mole, and further treatments may be required to treat deeper pigmentation to make sure the mole is completely removed.

Raised moles can also be removed using laser, but this may require several treatment sessions. In many cases, the doctor will shave off the top of the mole to make it flatter so that it’s easier to treat the base and edges with a laser.

in general, laser is an extremely safe technique as long as the operator is careful to avoid eye or burning injuries. All laser and IPL operators at Spot Check Clinic have laser safety qualifications. The main safety concern is that laser may partially destroy or conceal a melanoma without completely removing it. This could allow the melanoma to grow and spread in deeper layers of the skin where it isn’t visible. Because of this risk, any mole or other skin lesion must be closely examined dermoscopically by an experienced skin cancer doctor before contemplating laser removal. If there are any concerns that the skin lesion is a skin cancer, it must be biopsied and laser treatment may not be appropriate.