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Mole Removal |
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What is a mole?
Moles are skin lesion, that may be small or large; flesh-colored, yellow-brown, brown, or dark brown; flat or raised; smooth, hairy, or warty; broad-based or pedunculated. Almost everyone has a few moles. With hormonal changes, during adolescence and pregnancy, more moles often appear and existing ones may enlarge or darken. Moles are classified as typical or atypical moles.
Typical Moles: |
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These moles are usually benign, flesh-colored, yellow brown, or black, that usually appears in childhood or adolescence, anywhere on the body. These types of moles are 1 to 10 mm in size and approximately 10 in number. These benign moles are classified based on clinical characteristic and histological appearance.
Atypical moles:
Atypical moles look and act different than typical moles. These type of moles are usually hereditary and it may develop into melanoma, a potentially fatal form of skin cancer. These are characterized by irregular and ill-defined boarder, flat or slightly raised, tan to dark brown with a pink background; often have a dark target or light target appearance; commonly have a flatter rim than center; pigment often blurs at the edges or has notching. These moles are usually 5-12 mm, larger than typical moles.
Atypical moles continue to appear after adolescence most common on sun exposed skin and it can be only one or a few but it can also exceed to more than hundreds.
biopsy of the worst-appearing lesions should be performed to establish the diagnosis and to determine the degree of atypia
Halo Nevus:
Any type of dark mole surrounded by a 2- to 6-mm ring of depigmented skin, it can have inflammation, disappear spontaneously or rarely convert to cancer.
At what age and how moles appear?
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congenital moles : Babies rarely are born with a few moles with higher risk of cancer. These mole are more apt to become cancerous than moles that develop after birth. |
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Typical moles: usually first appears as a flat spot containing two or more shades of tan. It gradually becomes larger and darker. Typical age is in childhood or adolescence but rarely later in life. |
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Atypical moles with risk of conversion to cancer usually continue to appear after adolescence particularly in sun exposed area. |
Type of benign Moles:
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Freckels: really moles. Deeper pigmentation. |
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Lentigo: Uniformly pigmented, brown to black; flat; sharp margins; 0.5–4 mm |
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Junctional Nevus: Light brown to nearly black; usually flat but may be slightly elevated; 1–10 mm Uniformly pigmented, brown to black; flat; sharp margins; 0.5–4 mm |
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Intradermal Nevus: Flesh-colored to brown; elevated; may be smooth, hairy, or warty; 3–6 mm |
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Compound nevus: Light brown to dark brown; may be slightly or considerably elevated; 3–6 mm |
What are the suspicious changes of a mole?
changing of a mole such as asymmetric growing, irregular borders, color changes, growing in size, becoming painful, itching, starting to bleed, ulcerate, or any wounded mole that is not healing are symptoms that needs to be evaluated by your physicians and possibly be biopsed.
What should I do if I find a suspicious mole?
If you are suspicious of any mole do not hesitate to make an appointment with Dr. Shafa for an evaluation. A mole biopsy is very simple, pain free, few minutes procedures. It is worth to be on the safe side.
Should I have my moles removed preventatively?
No, because moles are extremely common and very high in numbers and skin cancers are relative to numbers of moles are uncommon; therefore prophylactic removal of moles is not justifiable. However, a mole should be biopsied and examined microscopically if it has characteristics of concern;
Can my suspicious mole just be shaved for biopsy?
No, the specimen must be deep enough for accurate microscopic diagnosis and should contain the entire lesion if possible, especially if the concern for malignancy is high. However, wide primary excision is not needed initially, even for highly abnormal-appearing lesions, because many such lesions are not cancerous.
Dose cutting through a skin cancer increases the risk of cancer spreading?
No, Skin biopsy even cutting through skin cancer does not increase the likelihood of spreading o(metastasis) of the skin cancer. Dr. Shafa with her expertise for mole removal avoids extensive surgery for a skin lesion but at the same time she removes sufficient amount of tissue for microscopic evaluation of the entire mole . Of course with artistic touch of Dr. Shafa the best cosmetic outcome is expected anyway.
Dr. Shafa our expert physician in dermatology and cosmetic skin care and Mardi our experienced laser specialized nurse want you to get the best results possible. This is why we recommend optimal nourishment and protection of the skin with our carefully selected skin care programs to complement the direct effects of ReFirme™ ST ™ treatments.
Moles in babies and Kids with Parental Concerns:
Babies may be born with a few moles called congenital moles which must be checked for accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment, very few of these moles are cancerous.
Moles on the face or other frequently exposed areas of skin may be troubling for children. If a child is particularly troubled by a mole, consult Dr. Shafa for cosmetic removal of such a bothering skin lesion. |
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