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General health

Has anyone had a mole removal........ minor operation

21 replies

shinyshoes · 20/02/2009 11:08

I have a mole on my forearm, a couple of moles actually. I went to the doctors today as one of them in particular has been causing me concern. He suggested I have them removed. Both of them, he said it can be done at the surgery and involves freezing them or some other sort of removal?

I haven't had anything like this done before, G.P. has told me I will be left with a scar about 1 1/2 inches, I know this is a small price to pay, for something that might/mightnot become problematic.

Does it hurt, Do I need time off of work? (I use a keybord and mouse at work and have to stretch across the counter regularly.

Advice and stories much appreciated

Thank you

OP posts:

Report

harleyd · 20/02/2009 11:17

i had one removed from the top of my arm when i was about 14
it was quite small, only left with a scar that looks like a bcg scar.
they froze the area with local anaestethic like at the dentist, and then used a scalpel to remove, i didnt feel a thing, and then they just put in a little stitch. i hadnt any pain afterwards either. i was back in school that afternoon

blowninonabreeze · 20/02/2009 11:18

Before I answer let me declare some bias! DH is a GP trained in minor surgery who removes moles etc regularly. Before I had my children I was a doctor training in hospitals to be a surgeon.

Personally before I let a GP remove my mole I would ensure he/she is doing it regularly and has had recent training

I've had moles removed both by my GP and by plastic surgeons. The plastics have produced a better cosmetic result undoubtedly.

In terms of pain etc, not bad at all. I only had the day of the ops off work - perhaps you could schedule for Friday so you have the weekend to recover?

blowninonabreeze · 20/02/2009 11:21

Having just read harley's response I was talking about an eliptical excision - where the mole is cut out of the skin in an eye shape (imagine the mole as the pupil) NOT freezing etc of which I have no experience.

So feel free to ignore my post if your GP is planning to "freeze"

harleyd · 20/02/2009 11:25

oh yeah mine was cut out..i meant they used an injection to numb/freeze my arm

themoon66 · 20/02/2009 11:28

I had two removed from the side of my face. There is no scar to see really, but my GP is an expert.

I don't recall any pain, more a feeling tightness on the stitches when I smiled.

blowninonabreeze · 20/02/2009 11:29

sorry - having a dumb not reading properly moment - I often think its a good thing I haven't returned to work after having my children!

GetOrfMoiLand · 20/02/2009 11:37

I had one on my face removed by a dermatologist after I was referred by my GP. I had three stitches and to be honest it has left a very prominent scar which is red and raised.

I will now never wear my hair up as i am very self conscious. I know it's only a bloody scar but i really do hate it.

However not to panic the OP - this ws with a scalpel, not frozen. And it didn't hurt at all, just stung slightly a couple of hours afterwards. I went straight back to work, though I had a ruddy big bandagey thing on my face so I got some funny looks.

Polgara2 · 20/02/2009 11:44

I had one removed from my forearm. It must have been quite deep I think because I have a 1 inch white line scar there still and this was about 8/9 years ago. It was done under local but at the hospital (actually they may take less care seeing you as just a number?). It did hurt afterwards (not during) whenever I used my arm but then I did have a baby at the time so could hardly rest it (disclaimer I am a bit of a wuss about pain so I may not be the best person to ask ).

Marne · 20/02/2009 11:50

I have a large mole on my back, i had it checked out when i was 16 and was told it would leave a big scar and was advised not to remove it. I have had it checked out since as it has got bigger/changed but the gp still says its ok. I really want to get rid of it as i worry about skin cancer, i'm not too worried about it scaring as my body is covered in stretch marks now anyway. After reading this thread i think i will get it done.

trixiethepixie · 20/02/2009 11:57

Had two removed from my back as they were raised and I kept catching them. Was frozen and cut out. Can't remember if it hurt much but I know I took that day off work as one was along by spine and I was worried about pulling stitches when I stretched. You can still see where they were but it doesn't bother me.

thumbwitch · 20/02/2009 12:00

I have recently had 3 moles removed - the smallest one was a skintag and was frozen off with liquid nitrogen - it stung a bit and took a while to die back and drop off (about a week). No scar.

The second one was a large protuberant mole on the side of my neck, this was snipped off and has left no scar.

The third one was a flatter-based one (with a peak) on my inside thigh - this one was about 1cm in diameter and was "shaved off", with a scalpel blade. This has left a scar, similar in size to the base of the mole, but it just looks like a reddish freckle.

HTH.

trixiethepixie · 20/02/2009 12:01

Marne - my doctor told me it's not the moles that increase your likelihood of cancer, if you are a moley person your chance is increased even if you get them removed. I'm very moley you see.(someone can feel free to disagree as I'm not sure my gp was talking through his hat)

thumbwitch · 20/02/2009 12:03

dammit, should have added in:
mole 1 - no anaesthetic, no time off required.
mole 2 - local anaesthetic injection, no time off required but had to keep it covered for a week.
mole 3 - same as mole 2.

All done by GP - mole 1 by my own, moles 2 &3 by a GP who specialises in doing minor surgical removal of moles.

shinyshoes · 20/02/2009 12:25

Thanks for the stories and advice, I'm much more reassured now.

I spose with all this Jade Goody stuff going on I'm more inclined to get them removed.
I spose a small scar and a day of stinging/slight pain is a such a small price to pay for something that might turn cancerous and it's too late to get anything done.

I'm a huge wuss, that dosen't deal with pain well.

OP posts:

GetOrfMoiLand · 20/02/2009 12:32

By trixiethepixie Fri 20-Feb-09 12:01:46

Marne - my doctor told me it's not the moles that increase your likelihood of cancer, if you are a moley person your chance is increased even if you get them removed. I'm very moley you see.(someone can feel free to disagree as I'm not sure my gp was talking through his hat)

Is that true do you think? I am very moley person and of course it worries me. Especially as spent a lot of my childhood in the tropics, with no skin protection (my nutcase gran thought liquid parrafin was the best thing to apply to the skin in order to attract a tan. So she covered me in that. Cue monstrous sunburn many, many times )

summer111 · 20/02/2009 17:35

I had a sun spot on my temple frozen yesterday...it's been there for a couple of years and I just felt more at ease having it zapped. The dermatologist sprayed liquid nitrogen onto it and while he warned me that it would sting, to be honest having a leg wax is more uncomfortable

Scar or no scar, in my book, having peace of mind is well worth it.

summer111 · 20/02/2009 17:37

forgot to add, it was a little swollen afterwards but I went off and played two hours of tennis last night..so no residual pain at all!

thumbwitch · 20/02/2009 23:34

trixie - not sure your GP was exactly right there as it is usually the moles that become the cancer, iirc. So removing the dodgy black/dark brown ones should reduce the risk of skin cancer because you have taken away the thing that was likely to become cancerous.

Perhaps what your GP meant was that, as you are very moley (as am I), having one removed wasn't likely to diminish your risk much, as you had plenty of others that had the potential to maybe become cancerous later.

Not sure that is very comforting, sorry! BUt it is important to remember that it is only certain types of moles that really represent a risk - the darker, more mis-shapen ones that change shape, size, colour, bleed etc. are the ones that need to be kept an eye on.

phil007 · 27/07/2017 19:12

I had a mole on my chin and it was quite big about 1cm and started to grow hairs, i went private to marie stopes clinic just off tottenham court road and it cost me about £80 bit that was a long time ago.
i went back to work next day and the scar took about 3 months to heal, now it's gone.
best thing i ever did.

BrexitSucks · 28/07/2017 08:33

IIRC what doctor said is true, trixie/GetOrf. Partly because moles you've had for decades are also very rarely a problem. It's relatively new moles you think you've had a while (but they aren't really moles... they're slow growing tumours) that slowly change that can become a problem (which is still unusual on a per mole basis).

OP: I've only had moles removed for cosmetic reasons. 1.5 inch scar sounds huge, how big is this original mole?? My big scar is probably less than 0.5 inches & that was a pretty large floppy ugly mole (maybe 4mm wide). Mine was removed under local anasthetic & I think might have required one stitch (era before steristrips). No pain no trouble. On my belly though, easy place to find loose skin I suppose.

PollyPerky · 28/07/2017 16:41

8 year old thread Zombie alert

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