Moles are assessed and diagnosed under magnification by a Medical Doctor. Depending on the type of mole, they can be removed by 1 of 3 procedures:
1- Lamprobe® removal
- Small / non cancerous / superficial moles
- Done under local anaesthetic injection
2- Shave Biopsy
- The mole is ‘shaved’ off the skin under local anaesthetic injection and sent to the Laboratory for histology
3- Excision Biopsy
- Suspicious moles are excised under local anaesthetic injection and sent to the Laboratory for histology.
- All suspicious moles are sent to the laboratory for further testing.
- If any mole is clinically cancerous, or histology of the biopsy comes back cancerous, complete excisions with margins are done by our in-house Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Martin Kelly.
PRE CARE INSTRUCTIONS
- Avoid medications and substances that might increase bleeding / bruising 2-3 days prior to removal (anti-inflammatories / omega 3 / alcohol)
- Inform the Doctor if you are on any anti-coagulant medications.
- Inform the Doctor if you have any allergies to local anaesthetics.
POST CARE INSTRUCTIONS
- Apply an antibiotic cream (bactroban / fucidin) to affected area twice a day for 5 days.
- Change the dressing of the wound daily for 3 days.
- Thereafter apply micropore tape daily to the wound and allow periods of drying.
- Do not pick at any wound / scab – this will result in scarring.
- If stitches were placed follow the recommended follow up removal times:
- Face: Remove stitches in 5 days
- Upper body / upper limbs: Remove stitches in 7 days
- Lower limbs: Remove stitches in 10 days
- Inform the practice of any signs of infection of the wound: redness / pain that is worsening / pus / swelling that is worsening.
