Will a "picked off" nodular melanoma grow back to a visible state?

Question

Yesterday I noticed a 2 mm brown itchy nodule on the back of my hand. It appeared to have a pus head but didn't look like a pimple. When I tried to "pop it" with a sterilized pin, the nodule opened but no pus came out. I then tore the nodule off leaving a small flat wound. However, as I suffer from Health Anxiety, I now worry I may have picked off a nodular melanoma. I'm afraid I may have removed visible evidence. If it is melanoma, will it grow back so I (and a doctor) can see it again?

Kate Ross, MD · Answer

It would be very difficult to completely pick off a "nodular melanoma." That terminology is actually one used by pathologist for the growth pattern. Nodular melanomas grow deeply, and don't usually hang off the skin. If you are concerned, visit your dermatologist and have them do a biopsy under the area you picked off. If there was a  suspicious lesion there, evidence would still be around microscopically in the skin.

F. Victor Rueckl, MD (in memoriam) · Answer

If it is a melanoma it will grow back.... However, honestly, if it is a melanoma it is not only in the tiny nodule itself and would be in surrounding tissue too. So, you can wait and see what happens and if something grows back and then go to your doctor immediately. Or you can see a doctor, explain what you did, and see if he/she can take a biopsy of that piece and a bit of the surrounding skin too. Never try to pick, pop, or remove things on your own. "This answer has been solicited without seeing this patient and 
cannot be held as true medical advice, but only opinion. Seek in-person 
treatment with a trained medical professional for appropriate care."

Will a "picked off" nodular melanoma grow back to a visible state?

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Will a "picked off" nodular melanoma grow back to a visible state?

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