Biopsy After Freezing Mole?

Question

i had a mole frozen off a week ago but doctor didnt do a biopsy, is there still a way to biopsy after to make sure its benign? thanks

Samir Shureih, MD · Answer

Moles should always be excised and submitted for pathological examination. We can not afford missing a diagnosis of melanoma. With freezing, laser destruction or destruction of a mole by any means one misses the opportunity for a biobsy and proper diagnosis.

Philip Young, MD · Answer

one week ago would be difficult. The inflammatory reaction could confuse pathologists and this could affect the diagnosis. I would wait until all of the healing is done and see if there is any part of the mole left. Otherewise I would watch the area on a regular basis and get check ups.

Martie Gidon, MD, FRCPC, FAAD · Answer

Please ask your doctor exactly what the lesion he removed was. Seborrheic keratoses, which are benign aging warty-looking growths, are usually treated successfully with liquid nitrogen. If a true mole was treated with liquid nitrogen, it will probably regrow and can then be biopsied.

Madeline Krauss, MD · Answer

More commonly, seborrheic keratoses, or "age spots" are frozen, while nevi (moles) are biopsied.  Perhaps your physician froze a completely benign brown velvety seborrheic keratosis and not a mole.  Many times, it is dificult for a non-physician, or non-dermatologist to tell the difference.

	Please see my blog post on the Kraussderm website to read about seborrheic keratoses.

Arnold R. Oppenheim, MD (retired) · Answer

Most likely if your mole was treated with cryotherapy, it was not a mole at all but a seborrheic keratosis. This would be especially true if the mole was treated by a dermatologist. Many lay people will call a seborrheic keratosis a mole when it is not. We also hear them described as warts ( the British incidentally call them seborrheic warts). If there is a question whether a particular lesion is a seborrheic keratosis or mole, the use of a dermatoscope can easily differentiate the two.

	Freezing tissue distorts the its histology so much that it usually can make identification very problematic. However, if there is a portion of the lesion still present after a month or so, you can always have this re-biopsied and submitted. Any anxiety over this lesion should be alleviated at that point.

Mitchell Schwartz, MD - Account Suspended · Answer

You should wait several weeks to preferably a month for the area to heal before having a biopsy done. A biopsy can then be done for any remaining portion of the mole for reassurance. I feel that it is never appropriate to freeze (cryosurgery) a mole or use a laser as the primary treatment for removing a mole. Regardless of how "benign" a mole may appear, a biopsy may still reveal it to be atypical. There are many ways to surgically remove a mole with a minimal scar and have tissue to send for microscopic examination which is the only way to ensure that it was benign. Other methods of destruction such as cryosurgery or a laser will alter its look and make it more difficult to observe for precancerous changes in the future.

Biopsy After Freezing Mole?

Answers (6)

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