The term ‘mole’ is often used by the general public to refer to different types of benign (harmless) pigmented skin lesions, such as seborrheic wart/keratosis, intradermal naevi, histiocytomas, and some malignant (cancerous) lesions such as melanoma, basal cell carcinomas (rodent ulcers) and squamous cell carcinomas.

It is important to have the ‘mole’ seen and diagnosed/identified by a doctor prior to having it removed.

If Dr O’Neill feels that it may be suspicious, then he may refer you to a specialist plastic surgeon or dermatologist via your GP.

Seborrheic warts and benign raised naevi can be ‘shaved’ off under local anaesthetic, but flat ‘moles’ or possible cancerous ones need to be ‘excised’ or cut out, which involves stitches.

Other raised lumps/bumps such as sebaceous/pilar cysts and lipomas can also be excised, involving removable stitches

Please bring a form of ID to your initial appointment and a list of any medication that you are currently taking, especially if you are on blood thinning medication.

Whether your mole or skin lesion is removed by excision with stitches, shave excision or curettage & cautery, the procedure is quick and shouldn't hurt once the area is numb (which takes 2-3 seconds after injection). After the procedure, you may feel a little bruised or sore around the area for a few days. After cautery, there will be a superficial burn scab, which if kept dry and clean, should heal within 1-2 weeks, depending on location on the body (faces heal more quickly than legs).

All necessary aftercare is provided by the clinic, such as dressings and suture removal. A review is always offered, or the patient can call us at any time for advice/review, if concerned.

Possible side effects/risks include wound infection, bleeding/bruising, keloid scarring, poor cosmetic result.

This entails sending the skin specimen that was removed to the local hospital path lab for analysis under a microscope. There is an extra charge for this. Usually the results will be available within 4-6 weeks, and a copy will be sent by email to the patient, after having been checked by Dr O’Neill.

Shave/curette and cautery (sealing with heat), and excision (cutting out leaving removable stitches (sutures).

Your procedure should not stop you driving on the same day, unless it involves numbing the fingers or hand.  It may be possible to return to work after the procedure, but best to discuss that with the doctor.

Yes, but usually after shave/curette procedures, the scar is flat and barely noticeable when covered with make-up (unless keloid occurs). Cutting surgery leaves a linear scar sometimes with stitch marks visible.

Raised naevi, if shaved off, can potentially gradually grow back, although in my experience, if they do, it is only very slowly, and they can be shaved flat again. Excised lesions do not usually regrow, unless incompletely removed.