This is the gold standard for removing many types of skin lesions and with most, it will not even leave a skin blemish.

Medicetics is one of the few clinics in London that perform radiosurgery.

Unlike normal electrosurgery, the ultra-high frequency reduces thermal damage of the lower layer of skin and therefore the risk of any scarring.

The area is numbed with a small injection of anaesthetic. If the lesion is very large or if we need to send off the specimen for histology your doctor may shave off a piece of the lesion. The rest of it will then be removed with radiosurgery.

After treatment a small dressing is applied for 2 days and post care advice is given.

There may be a number of reasons to extract a mole. In darker skin types moles tend to be deeper. If we use radiosurgery to remove these there may be a risk of scarring, therefore, a neat scar may be preferable.

If there is any concern with a skin lesion we advise to have a full excision as this allows proper diagnosis of the skin lesion. It is more important to know the depth of any abnormal skin lesion than the width. Your Doctor will assess your medical history and examine your skin lesion with a special device called a dermoscope to determine the type of skin lesion you have.

Surgical excision is performed by injecting a small amount of local anaesthetic to number the area. The mole is then surgically removed and any bleeding stopped with radiosurgery.

The excision will then be sutured in one or two layers depending on the area of skin that has been treated.

The length of time that the sutures will remain in depends on the area of the body as different areas heal at different speeds. The face tends to heal the fastest and we only leave sutures in this area for 5-7 days whereas the limbs heal at a slower rate and sutures may be left in for 14 days.

As the scar heals it can often become red and itchy although this usually settles after the sutures have been removed.

We give all patients post care instructions. This includes advice on scar creams, camouflage and keeping the wound protected from the sun to allow it heal and fade as quickly as possible.

We do not advise to use cryotherapy to remove moles, however, there are many skin lesions that can be removed very effectively by freezing after your Doctor has diagnosed which skin lesion you have.

Warts, pigmentation spots, and some seborrhoeic keratosis lesions may be suitable for cryotherapy.

At Medicetics we perform cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen in a special cryogen device with specific nozzles that control the depth of the treatment. For treating age spots the area is sprayed for a few seconds. The area has a tingling sensation for a few minutes post treatment and will crust over in the next few days. The pigmentation will crust and fall off leaving a red mark (post inflammatory pigmentation). It is important to use sunscreen at this stage on exposed areas as this will aid the healing skin to recover quicker.

Moles, freckles, skin tags and lentigos.

We have many different types of pigmented spots on our skin nearly all of which are benign.

A mole (naevi) is a small nest of pigment-producing cells (melanocytes) that instead of sitting evenly in the skin have collected in a small cluster or nest of cells.

There are lots of different types and sizes of moles:

1.Congenital naevi (mole) – these are present at birth in 1:100 people and have a slightly higher risk than normal moles of becoming abnormal or cancerous. Congenital moles are described as small naevi, medium naevi, giant naevi and hairy congenital naevi.

2.Epidermal moles (naevi) are warty like lines of moles usually found on the trunk but very rarely on the face. They are nearly always benign and can be removed by radiosurgery or by laser.

3.Sebaceous naevus is a type of epidermal mole. They are benign moles that often occur in the scalp, again it is an overgrowth of the upper epidermis. They can be removed by surgery, radiosurgery or laser. A pathologist should check all specimens to make sure that no new growths have arisen inside the mole.

4. Comedo naevus is a hair follicle naevus. Pigmentation arises around a dilated hair follicle and when these are multiple it gives the appearance of a mole, the dilated follicles fill with keratin. It is possible to improve the appearance with tretinoin, salicylic acid or using laser treatments. In some treatments, excision is required to remove the lesion.

5.Becker naevus This is a late onset naevus that occurs mostly in males. Due to an overgrowth of pigment and hair follicles. It is a single large pigmented patch that can become quite hairy after puberty. The cause is not well understood but may have a link to testosterone as it appears just after puberty.

You will be seen by one of our highly skilled doctors. The appointment will begin with a consultation and an examination of the mole. Options will be discussed with you and surgical removal of the mole can be carried out in the same appointment. Your visit will be less than an hour. We will take before and after photos. 

We will use a local anaesthetic to numb the area before the mole removal surgery. We will either use surgery or radiosurgery to remove the mole, quickly and efficiently. Over-the-counter painkillers are usually all you need to cope with any potential soreness over the next few days. 

Mole removal can leave a scar behind, and your doctor will discuss this with you. This will be dependent on the size of the mole, type of mole and the process of mole removal. 

There is a small chance your mole may reappear after its been removed. If your mole does reappear we will book you in for another treatment. One session is normally enough to remove moles completely. 

What is a skin tag/ polyp?

Skin tags are small fleshy bunches of skin that are found in areas of friction. They are commonly found around the neck area, underarm or in the groyne. They are benign however can be bothersome if they grow larger in the thigh area in cyclists they can rub and then become irritated or infected.

Skin polyps are sometimes present from birth and are a little larger, they have a stalk with a blood vessel that will need to be sealed when the polyp is removed.

How can they be treated?

Most skin tags are best removed by radiosurgery and are a very quick and painless procedure.

Removal of skin tags and skin polyps are done under a local anaesthetic if they are large. When they heal they very rarely leave any mark or scars.

Will it come back?

Skin tags do not grow back however if you are prone to these then it will not stop new ones forming. They are easiest to treat when they are small and healing is very quick in this case. 

A papilloma is another name for a wart as they are caused by HPV the human papilloma virus.

When the virus gets into the upper layer of the skin it causes rapid growth of the skin cells in a haphazard way causing a hard lumpy bump- the common wart.

We come in contact with the HPV virus every day on surfaces or skin contact with others. They are usually only a problem where the skin barrier has been damaged ie the hand, shaving areas or anywhere the skin has a little cut.

Other strains of the virus cause genital warts and have been linked with cervical cancer, Gardasil is a vaccine against types 6,11,16 and 18. Common warts are usually caused by 2 and 4.

Small warts are easily treating by freezing them or using over the counter products. Larger warts may need to be surgically removed using radio surgery.

If warts are being treated it is important to treat all of these at once to reduce the chance of recurrence.

We do not treat any genital area.

Seborrhoeic keratosis is very common and 90% of us will have at least one by the age of 60. They are well defined warty spots that appear on the top layer of skin and look as if they are stuck on. They can often grow from an area of sun damage (solar lentigo).

We do not understand what causes them however there is a link to sun exposure and a hereditary disposition. There is currently no evidence to suggest they are caused by viruses.

There are a number of ways to remove seborrheic keratosis: shave excision, electrosurgery, laser or TCA acid treatment.

At Medicetics we have found that radiosurgery gives the best cosmetic result and avoids the risk of leaving hypopigmentation (white skin). Depending on the size we can treat up to 30 of these at once.

Seborrhoeic keratosis can recur, sun protection and early treatment are advised.

A lipoma occurs as a small, painless, soft and mobile lump under the skin. There is no punctum (small hole in the skin) present and when it is pressed it appears to move under the skin.

They are not harmful or painful unless they are pressing against a nerve or in an awkward position or have grown to a large size.

There are hereditary versions of lipomata (plural of lipoma) that can be associated with other conditions like neurofibromatosis where a gene defect causes an overgrowth of these lumps.

There are different types of lipoma that are much larger and behave in a slightly different way, in very rare cases lipomas can form a very rare type of cancer liposarcoma.

Depending on the size and location lipoma are usually very easily removed by a small incision in the skin and forcing the lipoma through the incision. Although a stitch may be required these tend to heal very well.

A sebaceous cyst is formed by the overgrowth of the sebum gland in the skin, they are often filled with yellow/ white sebum which can have an offensive odour if the cyst erupts.

They appear as bumps on the skin and often will have a punctum (small opening) on the surface of the skin.

Cysts can go through quite stages where they shrink and size. Others continue to grow and can become tender if they become infected. The back and scalp are very common places to find sebaceous (epidermal cysts).

Sebaceous cysts are not dangerous to your health and are removed when they become bothersome.

At Medicetics sebaceous cysts are treated by surgically removing the whole cyst from the skin under local anaesthetic. It is important that the Doctor is careful about removing the cyst in one whole piece if some of the cysts are left behind it can cause a recurrence.

The procedure will require sutures. The scar heals to leave small neat line however it will be about 2.5 times as long as the cyst is wide.

Pigmented spots on the skin, hands and chest are very common in areas that are exposed to the sun or UV rays from a sun bed.

Persistent exposure to UV causes excess melanin production in clumps forming darks spots on the skin. This uneven pigmentation can make the skin look aged.

Once a clear history has been taken and the spots examined you doctor will decide the best way to treat your age spots:

• Increased skin turnover- prescription creams such as Retin-A (tretinoin/ topical vitamin a) help to remove pigmentation by a process of increased shedding of the skin (desquamation) reducing the clumping of the melanin. This is particularly effective when used in conjunction with a product that slows melanin production such as kojic acid/ arbutin or hydroquinone.

• Intense Pulsed Light IPL treatments are extremely good at removing this pigmentation. Treatments are fast with little recovery time and are usually done in a course of 3-4 treatments.

• Cryotherapy- if you have a single spot then freezing it off can be a fast and cost effective way to remove it and they have a very low recurrence rate when done in this way however the healing period can take a few weeks.

Sun spots are a sign that the underlying skin has been damaged to a degree if adequate sun protection is not used they will recur with time, specialist advice can avoid this from happening.