Introduction
Moles are clusters of skin cells that have a dark pigment in them. A freckle is a version of this but flat.
Moles can bother some people as they occur on the face or somewhere prominent and its quite natural to want them removed.
Some moles are quite superficial; they exist on the top of the skin and only there. However, some moles run a bit deeper and are tricker to remove.
Electrocautery is a procedure that uses a small loop of wire, like a cheese cutter, with electricity in it. The loop can be positioned to cut the very top layer of the skin just below the mole and remove it.
Because the cut is so shallow, it acts more like a light graze rather than a deep cut. This helps speed up healing time, minimise the chance of a scar and return the skin to looking normal.
What can you expect:
A local anaesthetic will be injected with a small needle, so the procedures are generally well tolerated.
Immediately after removing the lesion, the skin will be flat and pink and healthy looking.
There will be a scab which will form and the scab will fall off within 5 – 10 days.
The skin will gradually come back to its normal colour, leaving a minimal scar or no scar at all.
The removal will give you a bit of swelling, bruising and redness in the area where the treatment was carried out. There will also be some tenderness for a few days til the area heals. However, thanks to tissue coagulation, it is unlikely that there will be any bleeding during this treatment or anytime after.
Healing is quicker too.
Patients can go by their normal activities straight away but remember to keep the area dry and clean until it heals.
