The most admired beauty attribute throughout all cultures is flawless skin. Moles or skin tags (even though they may have been diagnosed as harmless) are often unwanted and can be a source of extreme preoccupation. Many patients request their removal.

At the Randali Centre we offer several ways to remove these offending lesions:

Radiosurgery and Mole Removal

Radiosurgery is an atraumatic method of cutting and coagulating soft tissue.  The resultant absence of post-op pain and scarring makes it superior to traditional use of a scalpel.

When using a scalpel, the cutting is performed with manual pressure. This results in unavoidable crushing of tissue.  On the other hand, radiosurgery employs use of a fine wire called a surgical electrode. This electrode conducts the current of radiofrequency and the cutting action is called electrosection.  The result of heat generated by the tissues’ resistance to the passage of this radiofrequency wave causes the tissue to split apart as though it had been cut with a razor-sharp knife.  The atraumatic nature of electrosection provides a noteworthy advantage in that the lack of trauma results in tissue healing without the fibrous contractile scar tissue seen so often after healing of wounds created by manual cutting.  Electrosection also helps to eliminate the unfavorable post-operative sequelae such as pain, swelling and possibility of infection which can be seen with traditional scalpel surgery.  As a result of these advantages, radiosurgery, facilitates, accelerates, and improves surgical procedures tremendously.  More important to many though are the cosmetic results:  With radiosurgery, they are uniformly excellent.

Q-Switch Laser for Flat Pigmented Lesions

For more than two decades, the Q-Switched Nd:YAG Laser has been a true workhorse in removing well-defined brown pigmented spots such as age or ‘liver’ spots, seborrheic keratoses, freckles, brown birthmarks, dermatosis papulosa nigra and Nevus of Ota. During treatment, the laser light is passed over the pigmented skin and the pigmented lesions are microscopically shattered into tiny particles.  These particles are then processed and eliminated by the lymphatic system of the body.  The sensation of the laser is comparable to the snap of a rubber band and anesthetic is rarely required. Most patients undergo a ten minute treatment and some may require only one treatment session.  After treatment, mild to moderate irritation of the overlying skin is to be expected and brown spots become slightly irritated for a few days to a week or so.

Following treatment, the area should be cleansed with a mild soap two to three times a day, and an antibiotic ointment (such as Polysporin) applied.  Sun exposure should be avoided for one week and sunscreen should be used daily. Treatment with the Q-Switch Nd:YAG laser has a very strong track record for safety and precision and the results can be dramatic.

Cryotherapy

The term “cryotherapy” comes from the Greek cryo (κρύο) meaning cold, and therapy(θεραπεία) meaning cure. Cryotherapy has been used as early as the seventeenth century.

The application of extreme cold, (cryosurgery) is used to destroy abnormal or diseased tissue as well as to treat a number skin conditions like moles, warts, skin tags and solar keratoses. Liquid Nitrogen is used to freeze the tissues at the cellular level.

There is virtually no pain with treatment and an anesthetic is never required.  The intense cold is actually perceived as warmth.  Immediately following treatment, erythema (redness) occurs at the site and this is usually followed with the formation of a blister.  The area is then kept clean and, if the blister opens, an antibiotic ointment is applied.  Complete healing takes place in about a week but a red mark may persist for several weeks.  The procedure is used often because of its efficacy and a low rate of side effects.