Mole Removal on my Chin: Concerns and Questions? (photo)

Although removing moles by any method from the face is likely to leave a small scar, scalpel sculpting, which involves no deep cutting or stitches has, in my experience, proven quite successful for achieving gratifying aesthetic results while leaving little, or often barely perceptible, scars.

The technique, which I have been using for thirty years, involves "scultping the mole" off from the surrounding skin in a tangential fashion (i.e. not cutting deeply into the skin). Deep cutting will inevitably result in a scar, while superficial (horizontal) removal in this fashion largely avoids this. Elliptical and fusiform simply describe the resulting shape of a wound excision after cutting them out deeply and before the placement of the sutures.

Following scalpel sculpting, the borders of the mole can then be smoothed and blended with the surrounding normal skin by "dermaplaning," a technique by which the edge of the scalpel is used to delicately abrade the skin. Properly done, the entire procedure, performed under local anesthesia, takes no more than three to five minutes. Perfectly flat moles (beauty marks, birth marks) can be elevated a tad with the local anesthetic and then more easily scalpel sculpted away and shaped to the contour of the surrounding skin. In most cases, the procedure is done at the time of the consultation. Different offices in varying parts of the country of course have different policies. My personal approach in my Upper East Side Manhattan office is not to charge for the consultation, but only for the removal itself. Fees may range from $550-$350 depending upon the particular circumstances.

Moles can be removed from the skin.  In this case, you will likely need additional lasers to help soothe and improve the scar afterwards. Raffy Karamanoukian, Los Angeles

I would recommend excision of the mole with superficlal dermabrasion of the edges at the time of excision. Cost would run roughly $85 for the consultation and $350-500 for the procedure which can be done that very same time. Sincerely,David Hansen,MD