Shave biopsy/excision

Biopsy and excision procedures for suspected skin cancers frequently cause scarring. Other adverse effects include bleeding, bruising, pain and infection. In cases where your doctor believes your lesion is most likely not skin cancer, spectroscopy can provide further evidence that the lesion is harmless. This often means that no biopsy or surgical excision procedure is required.

Raised moles can be removed in several ways, including radiofrequency surgery, shave excision, excision with stitches and cryotherapy (freezing). Removing a mole, whether flat or raised, should be done by a skin cancer doctor or dermatologist to reduce the risk of missing a diagnosis of skin cancer.

Moles can be removed from the face using surgical excision, laser surgery, radiofrequency surgery, shave excision, or cryotherapy. A qualified and experienced skin cancer doctor should perform the procedure, as they can rule out skin cancer before proceeding with treatment.

A flat mole is a type of pigmented skin growth that is typically benign (non-cancerous). If a flat mole needs to be removed, there are several methods that may be used, including surgical excision with stitches, shave excision, and laser ablation. New or changing flat moles must be examined by an experienced skin cancer doctor or dermatologist, as some pigmented flat moles can potentially be melanoma, a potentially serious skin cancer.

The cost of mole removal in Australia can vary widely depending on many factors, such as the type, size and location of the mole, the method used to remove it, and whether the "mole" is actually a skin cancer.

Doctors use multiple methods to remove moles and other skin lesions. The method varies according to the likely diagnosis, size and type of skin lesion, location on the body and patient preferences including cost and minimisation of scarring risk. Common methods include surgical excision with stitches, cryotherapy, radiofrequency surgery, shave excision, laser/IPL and electrocautery.

After mole removal, the skin surface is normally water resistant after 3 days. There may be a crust or scab over the wound for 1-3 weeks, and when it separates the skin should normally be intact and level wth the surrounding skin. There may be redness in the area as further skin strengthening occurs. This usually persists for several months to a year.

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.

Black moles can be removed by a doctor using a variety of methods. If the mole resembles a melanoma (a type of skin cancer which is often black or partially black) it must be completely cut out and sent to a laboratory for examination by a skin pathologist to determine the diagnosis.

You can have a mole removed while you are pregnant. This would normally be done for medical rather than cosmetic reasons (i.e. the mole resembles a skin cancer and should be removed as soon as possible).

Moles usually grow back after removal because the entire mole hasn't been completely removed. This can happen for several reasons including removing inadequate margins during excision, not treating deep enough into the skin during radiofrequency surgery or shave biopsy, and not enough treatments or very gentle settings in laser or IPL treatment. It's not dangerous for a mole to reappear after treatment, although if there's any possibility that the "mole" was really a skin cancer, re-treatment is usually recommended.