The approach to removing skin lesions varies based on your preference and the nature of the skin lesion. Prior to removal, the area is injected with a local anesthetic called lidocaine to enable a painless procedure.

Many skin lesions can be removed with a sophisticated instrument called an Ellman Surgitron. This machine applies radiofrequency energy and coagulation to your skin to delicately shave the lesion away, causing less trauma to the skin than other methods. After your procedure, there will be a defect on your skin where the lesion was removed. It will take about 1-2 weeks for the area to create a complete scab. When the scab clears, there may be some redness to the area that should settle with time. Many patients use silicone gel sheets to improve healing and decrease redness.

Dr. Khurana is also skilled in the use of the Erbium laser machine, which can precisely vaporize tissue, improving the appearance of moles, skin tags, and sebaceous hyperplasia. Larger lesions are first removed with a shave excision and then refined with the Erbium laser. The healing from this treatment is usually uneventful and leaves the patient with minimal scarring.

Some moles may require surgical removal with a classic excisional technique and are closed with sutures. This method is especially important for the removal of moles that have features that are suspicious for skin cancer.

The recovery process after a skin lesion removal varies depending on the type of lesion, the size of the lesion, the removal technique, and your body’s natural healing process. After most skin lesion removals, the skin takes one to three weeks to heal. While the skin heals, there may be some swelling or redness in the area.

If you have had cosmetic lesion removal with electrosurgery or laser treatment, it is common for redness to remain in the area for many weeks after the treatment. After the initial healing period, improvement of redness can be accelerated with BroadBand Light laser spot treatment.

Wound remodeling continues for over one year after a skin lesion removal procedure and will continue to improve with time.

You may be a good candidate for skin lesion removal if you have a skin tag, mole, seborrheic keratoses, or sebaceous hyperplasia that you find aesthetically bothersome. You may also be a good candidate if you are concerned about the appearance of a skin lesion on your body, and believe it may require medical intervention.

If you are uncertain about your diagnosis, you can request a referral from a family physician for an assessment at our clinic. If your skin lesion has features worrisome for skin cancer, the biopsy and removal of some lesions can be a covered benefit of the Medical Services Plan of British Columbia. The Medical Services Plan of British Columbia does not provide coverage for lesions removed for aesthetic or cosmetic purposes.