Hello, I am new to this group and feeling very frightened.
I paid to see a private dermatologist as I was worried about a few moles I have. One on my leg he said looks very suspicious and he has told me to ring his secretary to arrange surgery on it. I have health insurance through work so will be having this done privately.
Since coming home I have found another mole that I think looks suspicious.
If I bring this to his attention when I go for the surgery is it likely that he can operate on that at the same time if he thinks it looks suspicious too? Or is it more likely he will have to do it at a different date? I didn’t ask what sort of surgery but I am assuming it is primary excision to start with. Is this a long surgery?
Hi Footballmum and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.
I'm sorry to read that you have a mole which needs removing and that since seeing the consultant you have found another one which you think needs removing. Having had several biopsies myself I know what a worrying time this can be.
If you haven't already, I'd suggest that you mention this mole you've found when you ring the consultant's secretary to make an appointment for your surgery. As it will obviously take twice as long to remove two moles as it would for one I would imagine that the surgeon would need to know in advance so that the operating room is booked for the right amount of time.
My biopsies have all been done with the NHS so I don't know if your experience will be exactly the same. The area around the mole will be injected with a local anaesthetic which does sting. Once that's taken affect, probably after about 5 minutes, the surgeon will remove the mole and then stitch the wound which probably takes about another 15 minutes.
I was then taken to a waiting area where I was given a cup of tea while the nurse told me how to care for the wound, when to have the stitches removed (if they're not dissolvable), how soon I should get my results and how they'd be delivered, ie face-to-face, telephone or letter, and finally given a contact number to call if the results weren't back within the timescale I'd been given. I think the whole process from going in to the operating room to leaving is probably about half an hour.
Let us know when you have a date for your surgery and feel free to ask any questions in the meantime.
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
One thing I forgot to ask you Footballmum was did the consultant check you over from head to foot or just the moles you were worried about? If it was top to toe then it's unlikely he missed this mole that you're concerned about in my experience, so if he didn't flag it then it probably doesn't need removing.
We have lots of people who have passed through this group who were beside themselves with worry, convinced that the mole was melanoma and had spread everywhere only to be told that the mole was benign.
For me it's been 50/50. The first time I had a lesion removed was 5 years ago and that was melanoma but one I had removed last year wasn't. In both cases the dermatologist thought they needed removing so you can see that until they're removed and biopsied you can't be certain whether they're melanoma or not.
Even if it does turn out to be melanoma for the majority of people the only follow up treatment is a further excision of the site, called a wide local excision (WLE), to make sure there are no stray cells left behind.
Sending a virtual ((hug))
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
