Common superficial lesions treatment
Traditional treatments
The most common treatment for keratoses and moles is surgical excision. With acticnic keratoses and moles your doctor may take a tissue sample in order to carry out a biopsy to test whether it is cancerous or not.
Freezing keratoses with dry ice or liquid nitrogen avoids the need for surgical excision; however, complications of freezing include pigment changes and rarely scarring. The treatment of most moles usually isn't necessary although some people may wish to have them removed for cosmetic reasons. The most common treatments include:
- Shave excision. In this method, the area around the mole is numbed using a local anesthetic and then a small blade is used to shave off the mole close to your skin
- Punch biopsy. Using a device that looks like a cookie cutter your doctor may remove a mole with a small incision or punch biopsy technique.
- Excision surgery. The mole and a surrounding margin of healthy skin are removed using traditional surgery.
All of these procedures can usually be performed in your practitioner's office and do no take much time. However the results of these treatments range from fair to minimal, with recurrences sometimes occurring.
Laser treatment
Laser ablation of keratoses allows for the removal of the epidermis and superficial dermis in a controlled and relatively bloodless manner. Clinical studies have shown that the Er:YAG laser is a very effective treatment for keratoses with a clinical and histological improvement of up to 93% after one treatment, and without significant side effects.
Laser treatment of moles works by targeting the melanin pigment found within the mlanocytes of the moles. Laser treatment of moles is usually progressive often requiring multiple treatments. About 70% of patients who have laser treatments to remove their moles notice a marked improvement. Newer and shallower moles and scars respond better than older and deeper scars and moles.
Additional studies show that the appearance of moles continues to improve after the treatment, usually between 3 to 6 months after the treatment was given.