Will Shaving the Mole Be Effective?

Question

I have a raised, pigmented mole on my chin (that also grows hair). It isn't very big, probably about the size of medium-large pimple. I am planning to get it shaved two months before my wedding. Is shaving a mole like this the best option? Will it be effective or do I need to get it completely cut out? Is it more likely to leave a scar or spot because it is raised and pigmented?

Nelson Lee Novick, MD · Answer

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.  In most cases, the procedure is done at the time of the consultation.

Samir Shureih, MD · Answer

Shaving the mole down to where the hair grows from is too deep and will leave an indented scar. Cutting it and suturing will leave a line of a scar and the opportunity to examine the whole mole.

Mitchell Schwartz, MD - Account Suspended · Answer

Depending on their size and location, facial moles can be easily removed by one of two methods: a shave excision or an excision with suture closure. Dermatologic surgeons typically do both procedures expertly and can decide which would be best for your particular mole. A shave excision is a procedure where the mole is actually "shaved off" at a level just below the surface of the skin. The other method is an excision with a layered suture closure using both dissolving and non-dissolving sutures to give the best cosmetic result. All methods of surgery will leave a scar but the trick is to minimize the scar using the proper technique.

Will Shaving the Mole Be Effective?

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Will Shaving the Mole Be Effective?

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