Do I need a plastic surgeon to do a mole removal on my arm?

[Anonymous]

I need to have a mole removed on my arm. The dermotologist already did the first shaving, but it's abnormal and they need to take it all out. She says she can do it, and I have an appointment with her, but now I'm wondering if I would be better off getting a plastic surgeon to do it. I don't really care about the scar, but I also don't want it to be really ugly if it doesn't need to be. Part of me just thinks that I'm better off with someone who does this all the time, although I know the dermotologist does a bunch, too. Am I being paranoid?

[Anonymous]

You might be a little paranoid about it but it depends on how big it is, where exactly it's located and how prone you are to scarring. I'm very fair skinned and have had a lot of things removed. I'm also very prone to developing keloids. I generally have only had a plastic surgeon do the work if it's on my face but if it were on my arm, I'd just have the dermatologist do it.

[Shopmom]

Your dermatologists should be able to do a fine job removing the mole from your arm. Though there will be a scar for a while, eventually as your skin continues to develop it will slowly fade and you can also assist this process using products like mederma and even aloe vera gel during the healing process. Good luck

[Anonymous]

I had a biopsy on a bump last summer, by my dermatologist, and he mentioned if it were to be removed (looks like doesn't need to be, in my case), then he would refer me to a plastic surgeon. As PP mentioned, it depends on how serious/deep the mole is. If your dermatologist is confident in the removal, likely you can go with her.

[Anonymous]

I used a plastic surgeon to remove a small and very early (in situ) melanoma from my lower leg about 10 years ago. To get all the margins of this very small mole, they had to take about more than 1/4 inch margins around it, so the overall incision must have been 2-3 inches long. The dermatologist could have done it, but I cared about how the scar looked, so went with a plastic surgeon. I have no regrets....you can hardly see the scar at all, and I know it would have been much more noticeable if the derm had done it. I think you just need to decide how much you care about how it looks and how much it will be seen.