Mole removal

[Sheila]

I'd like to have a facial mole removed for cosmetic reasons (tired of everyone talking to my mole, not to me!). Anyone any idea how to go about it and how much it would cost to have it done privately?

[Laylasmum]

dont' know how much it is to go private but around here its about a 2 yr wait for cosmetic mole removal on nhs

[Sheila]

Suspected as much - Didn't expect to have a hope in hell on NHS so thought it wd be quicker to go private - scary though to know who to go to...

[Laylasmum]

yor Gp will be able to recommend a surgeon who does private work and refer you to him if you want.

[Sheila]

Thanks LM - I'll book an appointment with GP. Are you a fellow moly or a health professional?

[Laylasmum]

i'm a practice nurse for my sins!!

[hazlinh]

hi sheila, would be interested to know how you go about doing it...dd has a large facial mole and i'm sick of people staring at it and making stupid comments..."Oh is that a mole???" Feel like saying 'No I tattooed her'
altho i am not sure whether i really want to have her mole removed..do you know what i mean? is it safe? is yours a raised mole or not? sorry for asking..but would really like to know..i don't know if dd's can be removed.

[FairyMum]

I had a mole removed for cosmetic reasons and it wasn't even in my face. I had it done on NHS and I waited for about 4 months only I think. It's a few years ago and I live in Kent.

[nasa]

you might be interested in this thread which I started on the same subject a while ago
here

[ghosty]

I had a mole on my chin .... it wasn't too unsightly but I had always hated it ....
I went to my GP who referred me to a specialist at East Grinstead (if you live in the South East that is the best place to go for any kind of cosmetic/plastic surgery apparently). I was told there was a 2 year waiting list and I reckoned that that wasn't too bad considering I had lived with the thing for 31 years. In the end, I had a consultation 8 months later and a date booked for 4 months after that (so the 2 year waiting list turned into 1). I was preparing to go in for a GA and would have a scar etc....
Anyway, in the meantime DH got a job offer in NZ and I had to cancel my op as we had to move before the date.
In NZ I went to see my new GP about it and she was fantastic. She removed it in her surgery under local. It was a raised mole so all it really needed was this amazing instrument that worked using radio waved and she basically 'shaved' it off. The added bonus was that I got it on our health insurance as she also removed a 'dodgy' mole (a funny freckle) thing on my leg ... In NZ you can't get moles removed on Health Ins if it is for cosmetic reasons, but only for health reasons. So she did both on the same day and put them both down as 'health'.
The point to this long winded story is that had I stayed in the UK I would have had a GA and stitches and a scar and in fact all I needed was this simple procedure that left me with a small graze for a few days and absolutely no sign of a scar at all ....
So ... look at all your options, talk to your GP, get referred but get a second opinion .... if your mole is a raised one it may only need a simple procedure ....
HTH and sorry for the long and boring post

[misdee]

i have some raised moles on the back of my neck, and some skin tags as well. is it likely i cn get these removed on the NHS? they really bother me, and when i have long hair i am conscience of them whenver i put my hair up. even now my hair is short i keep it long round the neck to hide them.

[SoupDragon]

I've had a couple removed - a largish flat one and some raised ones. The flat one was done in hospital (local anaethetic) the raised ones in my GP surgery. All NHS and the raised ones were cosmetic really. The falt one was kind of cosmetic in that there was nothing wrong with it but I was advised to haveit removed because it was irregular in shape - turned out to be a benign birthmark (which I knew).

[hazlinh]

hiya soupdragon, was the largish flat one painful to remove? any scarring?

[redsky]

Dh had some facial moles removed privatley - he was very pleased with the results (very little scarring whereas some he had done 8 years ago on NHS left quite noticeable scars) However cost was outrageous IMO - £1000!! He is very moley and first impression can be a disconcerting but I really don't notice them any more - but I do watch out for any precancerous changes. Ds (17) has already had one quite big ugly one frozen off his back - but the scar is almost as bad as the original mole! Sorry if I'm not telling you what you want to hear. Hope your experience of nhs is better. Good luck

[redsky]

ps some of dh's moles are flat, some raised. The first lot he had done 8 years ago he found the whole experience quite traumatic - felt weak and shaky for about 5 days afterwards (no GA). recent lot done privately (no GA) was a much 'nicer' experience altho he still felt like it was quite an invasive procedure.

[misdee]

i am very moley, i tried to count them once but lost track. i know its over 40 on my face and neck if i remember correctly. the ones on my neck are raised, and the flat ones dont bother me, but always check them and get dh to make sure the ones on my back are ok, if the itch or bleed i keep a close eye on them and see gp if needed.

but the ones on my neck i hate!!

[fuzzywuzzy]

it cost dp £180 to get his mole removed, they cut it off, though there are other methods which may vary expensewise. hth

[SoupDragon]

hazlinh, the flat one was about 2cm x 1.5cm and was on my neck. It left a faint white scar line about an inch long which isn't really noticable but I wouldn't want it on my face iyswim. Not painful at all though - unpleasant tugging sensation when they did it though as it was under local.

[hazlinh]

hiya soupdragon. that sounds about the same size as the one on dd's forehead. i think if there was scarring, it wouldnt be worth me putting dd under the knife.

well good luck sheila and let us know how you get on.