Scared! Should I be?

    Hello all. I am a 31 yr old woman with brown hair and brown eyes(apparently age and hair/eye color are remarkable when concerning moles.) I had a slightly funny looking mole removed from my arm 6 months ago(I was 5 months pregnant.) The biopsy came back mildly irregular , but not cancerous.  My baby is now 1 month old and the excision site has repigmented. It was re-excised 2 days ago and I am awaiting the biopsy results. Can anyone tell me if repigmentation is common in such a short period of time (6 months) and if this is a sign that the irregular cells have progressed to melanoma in such a short time? I am very nervous. Thanks everyone, as a new Mom, I really want to stay well now more than ever.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Recurrent nevus is a melantic skin lesion which clinically resembles a superficial spreading melanoma at the site of a recent shave removal of a nevus. What happens is that melanocytes left behind in the wound regrow in an abnormal pattern. This is accompanied by scarring, inflammation, and blood vessel changes and this both the clinical and histologic impression of a melanoma.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.