Why do doctors remove moles

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Patient Appointment Center Hours: 7 a. Monday - Friday; 8 a. What Kind of Doctor Removes Moles? You may have a small dressing over the top to begin with. Your doctor or nurse will let you how to look after the wound and dressing.

You can usually remove the dressing a few days after the operation. Or you might have stitches that dissolve on their own instead. The nurse or doctor will let you know what they have done and how to look after your wound before you leave.

Waiting for test results can be worrying. It may help to talk to a close friend or relative about how you feel. You will need to go into hospital for another operation to remove more tissue, if you have melanoma.

This is called a wide local excision. The aim is to take away any cancerous cells that may have been left in the area around the melanoma. It reduces the chance of the melanoma coming back. Depending on how deep your melanoma is, you might need tests to find out if it has spread to another area of your body.

These tests find out how deep the melanoma is and whether it has spread. Your surgeon can assist you in applying for approval. Moles can appear anywhere on the skin. Most adults have 10 to 40 common moles. They form when pigment cells grow in a cluster instead of being spread out throughout the skin.

Common moles are usually small, round or oval-shaped skin growths with a well-defined border. They may be pink, tan, brown or black. Atypical moles look different. Most atypical moles are benign, though they are more likely than common moles to become cancerous, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Conrad says. Regardless of the type of mole removal you had, your doctor should instruct you on how to keep the area as clean and soothed as possible. For patients without stitches, Dr. Goldenberg recommends running a mixture of water and gentle soap over the wound at least once a day, gently patting it dry, then applying a thick ointment like petroleum jelly or an anti-bacterial cream before putting on a fresh adhesive bandage.

If you had stitches, your doctor will recommend that for a few days you keep the area as dry as possible and avoid doing any heavy exercise, Dr. The size of the scar ultimately depends on the size of your mole and the type of procedure you had done, but this almost always happens with mole removal, Dr. And if you got the mole removed in order for it to be biopsied, you should have your results within a week so that you can either put the entire thing behind you or move forward with a treatment plan if necessary.

SELF does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional. Mole removal is usually an outpatient, straightforward procedure.