Is It Possible To Have Moles Removed By Laser?

It is my recommendation that you have these moles/lesions looked at by a board certified dermatologist or a board certified plastic surgeon.  It is not advised to have lesions lasered without a biopsy.  

Many flat hyperpigmented lesions of the skin do well with laser or electrofulguration but may need to be done 2-3 times at a month between treatments before they appear gone but will always return with a lot of sun exposure.  Plan on doing this every few yrs to keep them under control.  Sincerely,

David Hansen,MD

When it comes to moles, it is advisable to use a scalpel as opposed to a laser.  In this way a sample of tissue can be sent to the lab to make sure it is benign not cancerous.  Sometimes if you have a raised brown mole, the laser is useful in conjunction with the scalpel.  First the area is numbed with local anesthetic, then the scalpel can be held in a horizontal manner and the mole can be shaved and removed in a way that it is debulked, and then a pigmented specific laser, such as the Q switched alexandrite laser can be used to zap the residual pigment in the skin.

Small, flat moles less than 3mm in diameter can often be successfully treated with laser.  I have been using laser to remove small, flat, benign appearing nevi for the past 20 years including treatment of Asian skin types.  This works very well for many nevi.  This type of treatment almost never leaves a scar.

While there have been published, scientifically sound studies demonstrating the ability to remove pigment with lasers and perhaps the moles themselves, I would strongly suggest that it not be something you should do on a regular basis.  I know the physicians who have performed the research and they do not even offer this is a solution to their patients except in the extremely rare case of Giant Congenital Hairy Nevi.  Super rare condition.

While lasers work great for removing many types of pigment from the skin, patients should be extremely careful with moles and lasers. As a general rule, the pigment in moles should not be lasered, as this has the potential to cover up or camouflage a melanoma.

Now, if it is something called a seborrheic keratosis in the setting of dermatosis papulosa nigra, then electrocautery can work. However, an evaluation by a dermatologist is important to determine its true identity before treatment.