A skin lesion is a nonspecific term that refers to any change in the skin surface; it may be benign, malignant or premalignant. Skin lesions may have color (pigment), be raised, flat, large, small, fluid filled or exhibit other characteristics. Common examples of benign skin lesions may include moles (nevi), sebaceous cysts, seborrheic keratoses, skin tags (acrochordon), callouses, corns or warts.
Your doctor may suspect the growth to be cancerous, if so they will send it to a laboratory for testing. After the testing process is complete they will contact you with the test results when they are available.In the meantime, they will likely ask you to keep the excision site dry for 24 hours, and they will provide you with instructions about when to remove or change the bandage. While the site is healing, you should keep the site covered when you are in bright sunlight, as a sunburn can permanently darken the wound, making the scar more noticeable.
A simple procedure that your doctor can use to remove growths, such as moles, lesions, and tumors from your skin is a shave excision. A sharp razor is the primary tool used in this procedure. A doctor may use also use an electrode to feather the edges of the excision site to make the scar less noticeable.Once they’ve removed the growth, your doctor may send it to a laboratory for analysis. This can help them learn whether or not it cancerous.
The treatment of benign skin lesions consists of destruction or removal by any of a wide variety of techniques. A skin lesion removal can range from a simple biopsy, scraping or shaving of the lesion, to a radical excision that may heal on its' own. A removal may be closed with sutures or perhaps require reconstructive techniques involving skin grafts or flaps. Liquid nitrogen, laser, or cautery may also be used to remove benign skin lesions. In cases where it is uncertain as to whether or not a lesion is cancerous, excision and laboratory (microscopic) examination is usually necessary.
Healing time and the amount of aftercare will vary, depending on the skin lesion removal technique.The patient is told to keep the wound clean and dry for biopsy, curettage, cryosurgery, and electrosurgery procedures. Healing will take at least several weeks, and may take longer, depending on the size of the wound and other factors. A patient's healing time will also vary with excisions and with Mohs' micrographic surgery. This is especially true if a skin graft or skin flap is needed to repair the resulting wound. It is possible that laser surgery may produce changes in skin coloration that often resolve in time. Pain is usually minimal following most outpatient procedures, so pain medicines are not routinely prescribed. Various parts of the body such as the scalp and fingers can be more painful than others. In such cases a pain medicine may be required.
Phone: 352-237-4133
Fax: 352-873-4581
E-mail: info@ocalafmc.com
