Mole Removal Health Video

Video Transcript

DR. LORETA CIRALDO: Hi, I'm Dr. Loreta Ciraldo, a board-certified dermatologist in Miami for nearly 30 years and author of "6 Weeks to Sensational Skin." Now, mole removal is a general term that really applies to a person's desire to get rid of a bump on their skin. We know that it's so-called mole or nevus if this is a longstanding lesion that hasn't change at all. So the first thing I'm going to recommend to you is if you have something that hasn't change and you simply are thinking about having it remove for cosmetic benefit or maybe because it's getting irritated or maybe you'd go for waxing and the mole was in a bad place then this is definitely an optional treatment for you. If, on the other hand, you have what you believe is a mole but it's had a sudden onset or a change in its appearance or it's bled or been covered with a scab recently, then it is not elective but it is of the utmost importance and urgency that you have this mole looked at by a board-certified dermatologist. The very good news about removal of lesions, whether they are moles or something newer, is that most of the time, the most common way that we remove it is by a simple and painless procedure, where we do put in a drop of Novocain so you'll feel a pinch. The most common thing a dermatologist will do to remove a mole is to do what's called a shave excision. We'll simply take a scalpel blade and shave it off, flush with a surface of your skin. When you leave the doctor's office, you'll have a little area of skin that will form a scab. Typically, the scab will fall off in a week or two, and most of the time, there won't be a true scar formation. So think about mole removal if you have something that's just a bothersome mole.