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Mole, skin tag and lump removal

As a specialist plastic surgeon, Dr Jill Tomlinson offers multiple options for the removal of skin and subcutaneous lesions across the body, including the scalp, face and limbs. Following careful assessment, she will recommend the most appropriate treatment for you, balancing the risks and benefits of different approaches. These considerations may include scar profile, healing time, expected downtime and the nature of post-procedural care. For many patients, a convenient “See and Treat” approach is appropriate, allowing treatment in your first visit to our rooms. In other cases, Dr Tomlinson may recommend an initial face-to-face consultation to enable detailed examination and discussion of the available options before proceeding.

Moles & skin tags

Lumps

Dr Tomlinson offers multiple treatments options for mole and skin lesion removal, and will discuss on the most suitable option for you:

Cryotherapy (Liquid Nitrogen)

Cryotherapy involves applying a controlled spray of liquid nitrogen to the lesion during a consultation. This freezes and destroys the targeted tissue.

Important considerations:

  • Cryotherapy cannot be performed via telehealth.
  • It does not produce a specimen for laboratory testing.
  • It is not suitable if there is any concern about skin cancer.
  • In darker skin types there is an increasing risk of permanent hypopigmentation in the treated area from cryotherapy
  • If appropriate, it may be performed during the same face-to-face consultation, provided time allows.
  • Multiple treatments may be required. This varies according to the size of the lesion, the response to treatment, and the duration and number of freeze/thaw cycles administered.

If an extensive consultation discussion is required and there is insufficient time to deliver cryotherapy during your initial appointment, a further appointment will need to be scheduled for the cryotherapy.

Shave excision involves carefully removing the raised portion of a mole so that it sits level with the surrounding skin. This technique is most suitable for:

  • Raised moles

  • Lesions where the primary concern is the projection above the skin surface

  • When scar minimisation is a strong preference

 

It is not suitable where:

  • The main concern is pigmentation rather than elevation

  • Complete removal of pigment is desired

Shave excision does produce tissue that can be sent for histopathology, which is important if there is any diagnostic uncertainty (ie skin cancer concern). 

Formal excision involves removing the entire lesion with a scalpel (or occasionally with a punch biopsy device) and closing the wound with sutures. This technique:

  • Provides a complete specimen for pathological examination

  • Carries the highest rates of permanent scarring

For heavily pigmented lesions, or where complete removal is required for diagnostic certainty or skin cancer treatment, formal excision may be the most appropriate option.

Lumps that involve the full thickness of the skin or which are located under the skin (such as lipomas) are treated with excision. It is not possible to remove them with laser, cryotherapy or shave excision.

These conditions include:

  • Lipomas
  • Dermatofibromas
  •  Epidermoid or pilar cysts (often called “sebaceous cysts”)
  • Neurofibromas
  • Skin cancers including melanoma
  • Scar revisions
  • Foreign body granulomas
  • Soft tissue masses of uncertain diagnosis


Not all lesions are best treated with formal excision. Following assessment, Dr Tomlinson will recommend the most appropriate management option, which may include observation, biopsy, or formal surgical removal depending on the diagnosis and location.