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How Are Moles Removed?

Posted on Fri, 24 Jul 2015

Question: I am going to see a general surgeon regarding removing a mole that has changed. Will I be given a local anesthetic? Do I need to fast prior to the anesthetic? How long will the procedure take (mole is about 5 mm). Will the doctor know how deep to cut, or should I ask him to go very deep around it (eg I am worried about melanoma, and so I would like very clear margins). The doctor I was referred to appears to be a cosmetic plastic surgeon. Will he automatically send the tissue to biopsy or should I ask for this, as perhaps a cosmetic surgeon is not focused on potential malignancies).

Clarification to above: I am going to see a cosmetic surgeon, not a general surgeon.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Rahul Kumar (24 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Details below

Detailed Answer:
Hello
Thanks for the query.
Moles are removed under local anaesthesia.
Following is the procedure usually followed.
1. Doctor takes your consent.
2. A test dose of anaesthesia is injected under skin.
3. After half hour anaesthesia is injected around the mole.
4. The mole is excised.
It takes around one hour for the entire procedure.
Dont worry the surgeon will take the adequate depth required.
You can ask the surgeon to send biopsy for histopath.
Let me know if you have any other doubts.
Thank you

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Neel Kudchadkar