Scar After Mole Removal

[Keesie]

Hi, i posted before on this forum. I got 3 moles on my face removed with the following method:

They completely removed the upper skin layer by burning it. This leaves just scar tissue. Many people told me this a very old fashioned bad method

I went to the dermatologist
who did the removal. What she told me : the scar is for life and the only possible treatment is cutting or tatoo-ing.

I informed lotsa companies if there are other methods and there are plenty and they dont leave scars.

But to remove this scar there is just cutting and tatooing.

What i read too is that when pigment is out of the skin it never returns.

Please doctor help me i am so desperate and have low self esteem because of this. I regret putting my trust in her. Is there any way my skin could turn normal again? I feel so despressed. Please be honest

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Keesie:

I can't answer your querstion as completely as I would like, because I haven't seen you.  However, I can say a few things:

1.  I often remove moles from the face by cutting or burning them.  The technology is old, but that doesn't make it necessarily bad.
2.  You can't remove a mole from the face without leaving some kind of scar.  Plastic surgeons cut moles off, but that leaves a scar too.


I suspect that your best bet at this point is to have the scars cut out and stitched up.  That should leave you with less of a scar.

My advice is this: get another opinion from a surgically-oriented dermatologist, or from a dermatologist and then a plastic surgeon.  I fee you will be likley to get a result which will make you happier than you nor are, even if it's not perfect (and of course you did have moles there to begin with.)

Good luck.

Dr. Rockoff

[brianpsx]

Hi, I have a similar problem also. The mole removal was done by using a scalpel, which left a fairly large scar. I was wondering what methods are good for scar removal which improve the appearance. Keesie, was your scar a bumpy scar or a flat scar? Thanks a lot and I hope you can help.

-brian

[Keesie]

To me it's flat but she said it was a bit bumpy because there was some pigment left which i doubt.

[Keesie]

To me this is pure mutulation. I certainly won't let anybody cut into my skin.

[Aloysius]

I am not a physician, but I've seen some wonderful results with mole removal in which the cut and cauterize method was used.  When there are hairs left, having needle electrolysis seems to normalize the skins texture.  When there are no hairs, having dry tattooing will result in a similar return to normal texture.  (make sure everyone is using presterilized disposables!)  Scars from mole removal seem to be inevitable, but from an esthetic view, a flat lightened spot is much more appealing than a big old mole.

[lulu182]

A related discussion, do you remove a mole on the clit? was started.

[upperarm]

A related discussion, Pain after removal of a mole was started.