Mole Removal

[SirBoobAlot]

I have a small but resonably pronounced mole on my chest. It doesn't bother me particularly, never has. But it is at the perfect height for DS to pick at when feeding. He has made it bleed before on occasion, and the area around it is very sore. I'm concerned about it getting infected / him causing some damage to it. I've tried covering it with plasters, putting foundation on it, wearing a beaded necklace to distract him, giving him a toy to play with, holding his hand... But he always finds it. Its now to the point that sometimes he will not feed unless he is picking at my mole, regardless of which side he feeds on - he can still reach it.

Does anyone know what the criteria are for having a mole removed on the NHS? Like I said, I truly do not care about the fact it is there, just that it is now causing quite a lot of problems for me.

TIA.

I had one removed a few yrs ago becuase my bra strap was constantly rubbing on it & it was uncomfortable.
It did need a stitch or two after, would your ds fiddle with teh stitches?

Possibly, but I guess I could cover it in gauze or something for a few days.

Glad to know that they did it for a similar reason - did it cause you much trouble after? How long did it take? Was it done by local or GA? Sorry, so many questions!

My gp did it in the surgery, 10 mins and it was all done. local injection to numb the area & then out with the knife.
A couple of stitches & all done.
I went back about 5 days (i think) later to have the stitches out.
Completely painless i suppose other than the scratch to put the local in.
He also sent it to the hospital lab for a routine check too which was reassuring.

No problems, just a small scar but less visable than the mole & the scar isn't irritated by my bra at all.

I had two removed on the NHS about 2 years ago, one just below my right collarbone, which my seat belt irritated and another on my neck that was a bit itchy.

Other than the local anaesthetic injections and the vile smell of burning flesh as he scraped them off [vom] it wasn't too bad an experience.

It took about 10 mins to do them both and because they were burned off I didn't get stitches.

I've never had any bother with them since.

Oh wow, that simple? Brilliant. Did you go to your GP to arrange it?

Thank you for your helpful reply :)

Yep referred by the GP to a dermatologist.

What aweeproblem said... done in 10 mins by GP in surgery. Sent off to lab for checking as routine. All done.

Mine were two in my hairline, where I kept catching them with my brush.

I think my gp's a frustrated surgeon, always happy to cut & sew.
Have a chat to your GP.

at frustrated surgeon.

Thank you, will have a chat with him.

I have had a couple of moles removed. They won't do it on NHS if it is perceived as being only 'cosmetic'. So the dermatologist might look but if they see it as non worrying, they won't remove it. Once I had worked this out and found out the cost of getting it removed privately, I explained to my GP that my mole was getting very sore and bleeding and catching on my clothes and I felt very self conscious and it was really worrying me. In turn he wrote to the dermatologist that he strongly recommended that it be removed etc etc.

I have a mole on my back and it rubs on mybra strap. It was going crusty and bleedingso they removed it (at GP's) to biopsy just to be sure...

Biopsy was fine.

Then it grew back and I had it frozen off.

Then it grew back.

Then I was refered to dermatologist just in case it wassome kind of hybrid monster with powers of regeneration.

Waitd forever for appt.

Dermaltologist said the kind of mole it is (determined by biopsy) never has been known to become cancerous but that even if they left a tiny weeny bit of root it would inevitably grow back. But that he would remove it again if I wanted. No thanks.

To add to the saga I form keloid scars so now have scar tissue AND a mole which togather are bigger than the original mole.

Wish I hadn't bothered [bangs head on wall emoticon]

I had mine removed about 4 weeks ago BUT my GP was very clear that they are no longer doing mole removal unless there is a sign of skin cancer, if thereisnt you have to pay .
Im in Herts so it might just be my PCT but just so you know you might have to pay

lisa - I think there is a directive that at the very least mole removal is one of the things that won;t be considered until the next financial year (April 2011) and even then I suspect they will continue that decision until budget constraints ease.

I had mine removed for a similar reason: it took about 3 months from the first GP appt to getting it removed as a day surgery case.

I wasn't charged as it goes.

I did however fiddle with the stitches and gave myself a boil that had to be lanced, so don't do that.

Yes, as ricketyrock says, I explained that it was annoying as dd kept grabbing it, and I was referred for surgery because it was "bothersome."

I think criteria has changed for the remainder of this financial year though - no mole removal except suspected cancer.

Agree re the cosmetic element. I've got one on my upper lip, which I hate, and think will eventually turn into a hideous Nanny McPhee monstrosity. The dermatologist wouldn't touch and said it'd have to be done privately because it wasn't giving him concern. :( (not that I want it to give him concern, I just want rid of it)

No idea about the whole financial element / tax year thing but I really did push for my mole removal. It took a couple of GPs to get the message but I got there in the end. Your call- I was really, really insistent that it affected my confidence and so therefore it was more than cosmetic.

I've had lots of moles removed over the years, but do have a family history of malignant melanoma (my younger sister) so they've always been really good.

My gp has always done them at the surgery, they have a special day for minor surgical things like that. Local anaesthetic, cut out and sent off, and a couple of stitches.

I think you may get it done purely because it's getting damaged. Worth an ask anyway!

I'm only going by what was in the papers a few weeks ago - removal of moles for any reason than cancerous is according to the Times being delayed at the earliest until April 2011 along with things like IVF unless that woll push you over the age criteria.

Ricketyrock, that's obviously fair enough if you really are having a confidence issue around it and it isn't just cosmetically less than idea.

But please bear in mind before going guns blazing to have your non urgent mole chopped off, that there is another person on the waiting list being kept hanging around for something more unpleasant and possibly deadly.

It's a bit more important that they get to see the dermatologist than someone who just doesn't like having a mole.

I had one mole on the middle of my back (about the size of my thumb nail) and one on my shoulder (rasied and about a quarter of the size of the other), both on bra line. Also had them whipped off by GP (but she had just returned from practising in India so I think she was pretty gung-ho!).

A couple of stitches which I think were the self dissolving ones (i didn't go back for any removal) and all was fine. Minor scarring but I am covered in scars from a scalding when I was litle so am pretty relaxed about such things.

I would say I was given a non urgent appointment - it took a couple of months between initial GP to actual removal.

I would say that anyone with more sinister / suspicious moles would have been seen far sooner. I hope so.

I'm sure.

I just wanted to kind of balance the advice you gave in case there are more unscrupulous people out there looking to 'cheat the system' iyswim.

Thanks for clarifying.