Removing a mole or a skin lesion answers one of two quite different questions: is this lesion suspicious and does it need to be analysed, or is it harmless but catching, rubbing or unwanted. The approach is not the same in the two cases, and treating them as one is the commonest mistake.
Diagnosis before removal
A lesion that changes in size, colour, border or thickness, that bleeds, itches or has appeared recently in adult life should be examined before any decision is taken. Examination is done by eye and with a dermatoscope, sometimes with photographic mapping when there are many moles. A practitioner who offers to remove a lesion without examining it, or who destroys it with a laser without any analysis, has removed your diagnosis along with the lesion.
How removal is done
Surgical excision under local anaesthetic allows the specimen to be sent for histopathology, which is the only way to get an answer. Destructive techniques, laser or electrocautery, leave nothing to analyse and belong only to lesions whose harmless nature is not in question after examination. The principle is simple: anything removed because it is suspicious must be examined under a microscope.
What to expect from the scar
Removing a lesion always leaves a mark. On the face, chest, shoulders and back healing is less predictable, and a widened or thickened scar is possible. Protecting the area from sun for several months is sensible. Before the procedure, ask where the incision will run, whether analysis is arranged and included in the price, how the result will reach you, and who will see you if the report calls for a wider excision. That last question is the one people forget to ask.