Anyone had moles removed by cutting out?

MarianneUnfaithfull · 05-16-2008, 03:15 PM

I'm due to have two fairly large, raised moles removed (not on my face). The doctor is going to cut them out and I'll need a couple of stiches in each one.
I've been warned I'll be left with a scar, and the severity of the scarring varies from person to person.
However, I'd still be really interested to hear anyone else's experience with this.
Thanks!

jjkrhbb · 05-16-2008, 05:37 PM

Had a mole removed on my back. Was rather large. Derm used some numbing stuff and then used this round thing that cut into my skin a few layers. Then they covered it with bandages and cream. No stitches. When I changed the bandages the next night it was yellow. Then it turned pink. Unfortunately my body tends to produce keloid scars and I ended up with a nasty one. So the doc injected me twice with steroids. It flattened and is now a light pink. Only hurt for a couple days. Hope that helps and good luck.

Stacie M · 05-16-2008, 05:42 PM

I had a mole removed by punch biopsy, and it required two stitches I believe. It did leave a scar, where you could see the stitch marks. Mine was removed to check for cancer. I have a few that I would like removed, but have been putting it off because I am almost certain they would require stitches as well.

JosieFB · 05-16-2008, 06:12 PM

Unless you go to a plastic surgeon, there will likely be a scar.

TeachinAuntie · 05-16-2008, 07:17 PM

Well, I got lucky. My Derm was super handy at stiching & the 2 I had removed from my back didn't scar too bad at all. There may be a "lightness" to the spot where they were removed from. Mine were removed because they had the pre-cancerous look to them. Skin cancer runs in the fam. so it was a precaution worth taking.

VM83 · 05-17-2008, 05:27 AM

Yeah i had a fairly big one removed from under my left boob. It was always getting in the way of my bra and would tear sometimes if i was overly active. Not to mention the spot it was at just hurt. They cut it out with a knife and got about 4or5 stitches it was kinda hard for him to get out just because of the location. I do have a scare adn soft white skin but i dont worry about it just because im sure that not what dh is looking at when im top less...lol

LoLo32382 · 05-17-2008, 06:37 AM

My mom had one removed on her face and went to an actual plastic surgeon, no scar in the least. My BFF's dad is a Dermatologist. He recommends Mederma or something for scars & says it really helps, especially with tiny ones from things like mole removal. I removed one of my own moles once, before I was on blood thinners. I did a great job adn had great luck with the procedure, but I DO NOT recommend this b/c it can be very dangerous. It was a small mole in my underarm and it stuck out a bit and hindered my shaving. I didn't want to shell out for a dermie and so I numbed it with hard-core lidocaine and chopped away! Home surgery is usually not the way to go, but if I survived that, I'm sure you will be A-Ok with a doc who does this regularly. Good luck! =)

alex · 05-17-2008, 08:15 AM

I had a mole on my lower back removed at my doctor's surgery. I then had 5 stiches. All went well until a week afterwards when, thinking it was practically healed, I bent over too quickly and burst my stitches. Then I couldn't get to a doctor's until the next day and so my wound had to be left open. I had a raised, red scar about an inch long after that; but the Dr told me it would continue the healing process for up to a year and she was right. 18 months later, the scar is flat and white and almost unnoticeable.

So, even when the mole removal doesn't quite go to plan as in my case, it's really not that bad.

JosieFB · 05-17-2008, 11:08 AM

I am using Mederma on my nose now. I had a skin cancer lesion removed about 4 weeks ago, and they had to pull a skin flap from the bridge of my nose. I have a vertical scar running along the side of my nose from my eye to about midway down my nose, and sort of circular scar around the flap covering the place where the lesion was removed. The plastic surgeon used tiny stitches, so there are no stitch marks. The Mederma box says it fades new scars in 8 weeks and old scars in 3 - 6 months. You start using it as soon as your stitches are removed on new scars. My doctor said he didn't care if I used Mederma, vitamin E oil or Vasaline. He believes that the massaging action and keeping it moist that fades the scar. Also, he said the scar would tan/burn at a different rate than the skin around it for at least 6 months. Since a person who has had skin cancer shouldn't get much sun anyway, I'm wearing sunscreen everyday on my exposed skin, and wearing a visor when I'm outside for very long.

Franca · 05-19-2008, 03:15 PM

I had two removed from my arm. Although they were harmless, they seemed to grow quickly out of nowhere and would hurt! The bigger one was about the size of an eraser head.

I have no scar whatsoever where they were- it's like nothing was ever there. And they never grew back, which is also good.

They were removed by a senior dermatologist-- he frozen the area, cut them out, and I think I had a stitch or two, but can't remember.

Whether you get keloids, you probably already know from previous injuries. If you've never had keloids before, there's no reason why you'd get them now.

crystalgem · 05-19-2008, 06:32 PM

i have heard of one method where they tie a thread tightly at the base of the mole. This stops blood circulation to the mole. The mole dries and falls off. I had only heard about this...until it accidently happened to me. We had bought this flannel sheet which was giving off so much lint. Some strands were quite big and they got entangled with this painful mole in my arms. I was not able to remove the lint. It pained on and off for 2 days before the mole finally fell off. My doctor refused to believe me. It actually fell off in the doctors office (I finally went to my doc t get it removed beacuse of the pain). She laughed so hard. It was so funny. She refuses to believe my story LOL.

Mellon · 05-19-2008, 07:29 PM

I had one removed from my neck and one from my shoulder by my GP, (ex plastic surgeon) He did a fantastic job, they use like a small round punch scalpel it looks very much like a small apple corer, i have the thinnest line of a scar from both, he told me if i ever need any removed and he cant do it ask the doc to use tiny stitches they dont scar as easy. same doc has also removed a number of skin tags from me and same results with scaring. I guess the way i look at it scars are a part of life so it dosnt really bother me if i have scars, i look at stretch marks the same way too.
Have a great day
Mel

MarianneUnfaithfull · 05-23-2008, 04:56 PM

Thanks, that's helped so much.

I am thinking about asking my doc if I can change to the scraping method (where the mole is shaved off) on the mole on my stomach, where I am more bothered about the scarring. Wonder whether that method would have a better result than cutting out and stiching from a cosmetic point of view...

Lane · 06-19-2008, 09:24 PM

I had a small black flat mole shaved off from my lower abdomen a year ago...it was pink for a while but it eventually faded into the same color as my skin.

bajo · 06-19-2008, 11:45 PM

I've had multiple moles removed. First, my dermatologist shaves them off and sends them to the lab. This only leaves a miniature scar (and most of them just fade after 1 year). Then, if the moles turn out to be displastic, she cuts more tissue away which requires a couple of stitches. The scars are pretty small, but visible.
I've also had skin cancer and the scar that is left is pretty big because of the amount of tissue that had to be removed. So I guess it depends on mole size and lab results.