Mole Removal Q&A
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Mole Recurrence
asked 1 year ago by jess 665 in London, H9
Latest answer by Tal T. Roudner, MD
Question viewed 1,254 times
Tags: recurrence
If a mole is removed by shaving it off, can it recur to look worse than the original mole was (e.g. more patchy or more raised)? or would the recurring mole be similar to the original one? Many thanks
9 answers to Mole Recurrence
+2
Shave removal of moles
Shave removal of raised moles which are benign appearing (not suspicious), is a viable alternative to full thickness excision with stiches. A mole which is shaved, usually heals as a flat, round or oval scar which may eventually blend with the surrounding skin, may be white or pink, or may retain the pigmentation of the original mole. There is always a possibility that the mole will regrow. In my experience, shave removal is most useful for facial moles, where a...
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Jeffrey Sklar, MD
Woodbury Dermatologic Surgeon
Woodbury Dermatologic Surgeon
+2
Mole Recurrence
Excellent question - but no simple answer. There is just no way to know what will happen in a case like this. In general, though, if there is a low level of concern for the lesion and it is raised, I would advise just shaving it, as long as the resulting pigment more or less matches the existing color of the skin. In that case, it tends to blend in pretty well.
For a lesion (fancy name for growth or mole) that is flat, worrisome, recurrent, or anything else like...
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+1
Mole Recurrence
The answer is yes and it usual does. The shaving method is great for getting a diagnosis of the lesion especially when it is located in an area that is aesthetically important such as eyelid, nose, lip, and ears. A full excision in those cases may cause a deformity or would require reconstruction.
I used the shave biopsy on occasion but most of the cases a full excision is performed to avoid recurrence and give a better aesthetically looking scar.
Good Luck!
+1
Shaving a mole will likely lead to recurrence.
A true mole (nevus) is a full thickness lesion of the skin and if is to be removed, a full thickness excision is necessary. Shaving for the purpose of diagnosis will most often lead to a recurrence.
+1
Shaving may leave cells behind
Shaving a mole leaves some cells behind which may grow and the mole recurs. In terms of its appearance, you must evaluate the look of the mole vs how you look now vs what the scar of a complete excision would look like.
+1
Mole Removal
It is possible for a mole to recur if it was shaved off. If the mole is cancerous, the original depth may not be determined. If the specimen is evaluated, a cancerous mole may be missed. For this reason, I prefer to excise the mole completely. Full excision is the best way to ensure complete removal and evaluation. All mole specimen should be sent to the pathologist for full analysis. I hope this helps.
+1
Will mole recurrence look worse than the original?
Whether a mole will recur after shaving it off depends on whether there is a deeper component that is left behind.
In general, I recommend removing a mole by excision. That gives a neat, linear scar as opposed to a wide, round or oval scar. Also, if a mole does recur after a shave removal, it may recur as irregular pigmentation, since melanocytes are stimulated by the inflammation of the removal. It is important to remember that a mole has been incompletely removed in...
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+1
Moles
In my opinion and experoence moles should not be shaved. Moles must be removed full thickness to allow the patholoy to evaluate the entire mole more accurately. If it is a melanoma and was shaved then one looses the opportunity to evaluate the depth and thickness which are very importanat parameters to plan a course of treatment
Samir Shureih, MD
Baltimore Plastic Surgeon
Baltimore Plastic Surgeon
+1
Often Patchy
This would all depend on the age and type of mole. If the mole is old and the melanocytes are effete (this is the term us pathologists use to describe these type of mole cells), it is unlikely that there will be a recurrence. This is most common with an intradermal nevus; a mole where the melanocytes are deeper in the dermis,
If the mole is a younger mole, such as a compound nevus, where the mole cells are both deep and at the juncture between the epidermis (top layer) and dermis...
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Arnold R. Oppenheim, MD
Virginia Beach Dermatologist
Virginia Beach Dermatologist