skin discoloration after mole removal and cortisone shot

I had a mole removed from my arm about two years ago, and the biopsy came back as non-cancerous.  The mole grew back discolored and with irregular borders, and when I went to my annual checkup, my dermatologist said that "happens sometimes," and explained that it was one of those moles that was simply really deep (I forget the technical term for this).  When I went back a few months ago for another annual checkup, the doctor admitted that there was an awful lot of scarring around my mole, and so she decided to give me a cortisone shot.  The swelling did go down, but the mole has not completely flattened.  Maybe three months later, I noticed that the skin around half of the mole turned white and since then, it seems as though this white area has grown and is starting to peel a bit.  There has been no bleeding and very little itching (and, when it does itch, it may be entirely psychosomatic), but I'm still concerned.  I know that sometimes cortisone shots can cause skin discoloration/atrophy -- is this likely what's going on?  Thanks...

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
It is normal for the skin to discolor and peel after steroid shots. What you have is a recurrent nevus. 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.