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How To Remove Suspicious Mole On Hand?
Question: Hi! I had a suspicious spot on my wrist removed (biopsied?) and sent to be tested for malignancy. It looks like the doctor missed a small part of the pigment/mole/freckle thing. If it's cancerous, they would have to completely remove the spot in another surgical procedure, right? It's on my inner wrist so I'm worried about the location and it's proximity to my blood veins as far as conete removal if that is necessary.. but I'm really inquiring about the outcome if the results are being or normal. Is there an increased risk that they spot will regrow into a cancerous tumor because the doctor missed part of the mole? So, in other words, when most biopsies are performed, does the doctor usually get the entire mole?
Brief Answer:
Suspicious mole
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to healthcaremagic
I am Dr. Kakkar. I have gone through your query and I have understood it.
Excision biopsy with a safe margin of normal tissue around a suspicious mole is always preferred over incisional biopsy(through the mole) unless the lesion is a big one or in cosmetically sensitive area like face or when the clinical suspicion for melanoma is low.
If the biopsy does reveal a melanoma then the remaining part would be removed along with a safe margin of surrounding normal tissue (minimum 2mm margin).
An incisional biopsy is suboptimal because it does not provide the entire lesion for analysis and therefore a malignant transformation may be missed.
Regards
Suspicious mole
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to healthcaremagic
I am Dr. Kakkar. I have gone through your query and I have understood it.
Excision biopsy with a safe margin of normal tissue around a suspicious mole is always preferred over incisional biopsy(through the mole) unless the lesion is a big one or in cosmetically sensitive area like face or when the clinical suspicion for melanoma is low.
If the biopsy does reveal a melanoma then the remaining part would be removed along with a safe margin of surrounding normal tissue (minimum 2mm margin).
An incisional biopsy is suboptimal because it does not provide the entire lesion for analysis and therefore a malignant transformation may be missed.
Regards
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
There is just a TINY piece that was missed. I would assume he had intended to get the entire lesion but missed it. What is a malignant transformation? Does the fact that he left behind a very small piece of the lesion carry an increased risk with the spot turning malignant in the future?
Brief Answer:
Excisional biopsy is preferred
Detailed Answer:
Hi.
The purpose of biopsy in a suspicious mole is to look for/rule out malignant change or transformation to a "Melanoma". Malignant change may occur in just a small section of a mole so if that part is not biopsied malignancy may be missed, therefore it is always better to remove completely (excision biopsy) a suspicious mole for pathological assessment.
The left over part need not become malignant just because it was biopsied or left over.
Regards
Excisional biopsy is preferred
Detailed Answer:
Hi.
The purpose of biopsy in a suspicious mole is to look for/rule out malignant change or transformation to a "Melanoma". Malignant change may occur in just a small section of a mole so if that part is not biopsied malignancy may be missed, therefore it is always better to remove completely (excision biopsy) a suspicious mole for pathological assessment.
The left over part need not become malignant just because it was biopsied or left over.
Regards
Note: Hope the answers resolves your concerns, however for further guidance of skin related queries consult our Dermatologist.Click here to book a consultation
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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