Nevus Excision

What is nevus?

There are two types of moles: congenital and acquired. Mostly, moles are not present at birth and appear later. From the age of twenty, most people have 20-30 moles scattered all over their body. These moles become visual over time and are usually no larger than 0.5 mm in size. Only one in every one hundred babies is born with a congenital nevus. These moles vary in size; they can be smaller than 0.6 centimeters, and there are some that cover almost the entire body, which are called “giant congenital nevi”. Large nevi were defined as having a diameter greater than 20 cm in the adult and 8 cm in the infant or as occupying a large part of a body area such as the face or feet. Moles vary widely in size, shape, surface texture and hairiness. Their color ranges from light tan to jet black. Most are in shades of brown. Some have fine hair, while most have long, thick, dark, coarse-looking or curly hair. Trimming or shaving this hair does not increase its growth. Some have a permanently “goose bumps” appearance because their small muscle called the piloerector has become quite enlarged. This tiny muscle keeps the hair on human skin upright when exposed to cold

Follow-up

Moles are skin changes formed by cells called melanocytes that give color to the skin. Numerous moles can be seen on the human body. Some of these moles are congenital, while others are formed as a result of exposure to the sun. Moles can be brown, black or rarely dark blue in color. Not every dark color change or bump is mole. Although there is a higher risk in congenital moles, some of them may carry cancer risk. Therefore, it is extremely important to follow up dangerous moles.

Removing Moles

There is a misconception among the people that moles can turn bad when “they are removed with a blade”. On the contrary, if the dangerous moles are not surgically removed, there is a risk of transformation into a life-threatening skin cancer called “Malignant Melanoma”. Malignant Melanoma is a malignant type of cancer that is increasing rapidly all over the world. Therefore, detection and removal of dangerous moles can save a person’s life. Another belief among the people is that the cancer increases after moles have been surgically removed, which is quite misleading. However, hundreds of thousands of moles are removed by Plastic Surgeons every day and those people do not get cancer. The risk of developing Malignant Melanoma is 1.5% in the general population; in other words, one out of 70 people has a chance of developing it during their lifetime. This rate is increasing day by day due to the depletion of the ozone layer in our atmosphere and increased exposure to harmful UV rays. In people with moles, the rate of moles turning into cancer one day increases to 2%, that is, a skin tumor may develop in one of 50 people. If there was no pathological examination after the removal of the mole and if the patient was diagnosed with Malignant Melanoma, yet if there was no pathological examination and treatment and follow-up were not performed, patients would be lost because distant organ metastases have already occurred when removed (if diagnosed in advanced stages of Malignant Melanoma).

Removal of existing skin lesions (moles) should be performed by experienced Plastic Surgeons who can ensure that the scars are minimal due to aesthetic applications.