Can moles on the face be removed without surgical treatment?

Dr. Irwin
December 13, 2012
there are many moles in my face and its not cancer causing and how should i remove it without surgical treatment??

The short answer to this is no. True moles, and there are several different types of moles, can’t be removed without surgery. You will always trade a mole for a scar. The question really is …. is it a good trade?   Ideally, the scar is much less visible and noticeable than the original mole. More info here on methods to surgically remove moles and the type of scar they make.

Also, in general dermatologists don’t recommend trying to use lasers for this. Usually it’s not succesful anyway and then there is the issue of the laser energy interacting with the mole in a way that could cause cancer later. We really don’t have any long term data on whether lasers (especially repeated treatments to the same spot), could damage the mole in a way that could promote melanoma.

Hope this helps,  Dr. I

Dr. Brandith Irwin, MD

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