What is it like to have a mole removed?

It’s nothing to stress about. I had a small tumour removed from my arm a few years back after finding a suspicious mole on my arm. The doctor gave me an injection which stung slightly, and then I felt nothing other than a slight pressure when he was cutting the thing out. He let me watch, but if you are squeamish just don’t look. He then put in two stitches, which again I did not feel. He stuck the bandage on and I was ready to leave. After the anaesthetic wore off my arm felt slightly itchy. I went back shortly afterward to have the stitches out. The doctor just snipped part of the stitch, and pulled the whole thing out. It took a fraction of a second and I felt nothing, even with no painkillers. The site was slightly itchy afterward, but easy to ignore.

If you have any questions about details, feel free to ask, but I think I’ve covered everything.

I went in for a consultation, just to see. He said yeah, I can remove that. It will take 2 minutes. It was on my face. They use a little bit of a numbing agent then just scoop the mole right out then they try to even out the surface a little bit so it’s just so much of a hole. That is literally it. Very little pain.

As people said above they inject numbing stuff (novacaine). The needle stick does not hurt, it is a very thin needle, barely goes into the skin, but the liquid they inject does sting usually. Each little shot of novacaine lasts a few seconds, so if it does hurt, it only hurts for a few seconds. I always advise to expect a little pain so you don’t flinch. After the shots, you might get 2–4, they wait a few mintes to make sure you are numb, and then they cut off the mole. You will not feel them cut the mole off at all. Afterwards they will put some antibiotic ointment on and a bandaid of some sort. You will be given instructions how to take care of it, take care of it as instructed to reduce scarring and any chance of infection. If it was a large mole they might put a couple stiches in it to reduce scarring. This won’t hurt either because you will be numb. If you get a couple stitches, you will have to get them taken out several days later, which is also no big deal, it feels a little odd, but doesn’t hurt.

Also, as the novacaine wears off you might feel a little pain, if you want to block it take two Tylenol. Do not take aspirin or ibuprofen. The Tylenol should get rid of any discomfort, and most likely you will only need to take Tylenol once, because the discomfort will not last long.

Let us know how it goes.

As others have said, It’s no big deal, fast and simple, little pain.
I prefer the freeze burn method actually, a few drops of whatever they use and the mole just evaporates over a few day period and is gone. Piece of cake, nothing to fear.

Depends where it is on the body, but usually a 2 minute procedure with a tiny little needle deadening a ½ inch area of the skin, and a sharp knife to scrape it off. Tiny little band aid.

If you have your ears pierced: getting a mole removed is 1/10 the pain of an ear piercing.

If they do freeze it off, they usually spray this cold stuff on it, which only hurts a little. They will likely spray it once, wait a few minutes, and then spray it again. Freezing off is less likely to leave a scar, but not everything is able to be frozen off. Again, follow the directions for how to care for it, so you are less likely to scar.

It depends on the size but with most, it’s no big deal.

I’ve removed moles with a pair of nail clippers.

I have had them removed. Not a big deal. Congratulations on finally getting your appointment! Yeah!!!!! Be prepared that the dermatologist might have only scheduled time for a consult and might want you to come back later for the actual removal.
The dermatologist I go to now practically comes in with a needle and scalpel, but previous ones have done these in more than one appointment.

I have had skin tags removed, the dermatologist used something that looks like a craft knife (the thing you can cut foam board with). He puts in a shot of something that has a slight sting, and he leaves for a few minutes and by the time he returns, that spot is numb. He takes this knife thing, and blip! It’s off. He puts a piece of something and tells you to press it, then he puts cream and a band-aid, and you’re done. The whole thing takes about 5 minutes, total.

My doctor used that liquid nitrogen spray. Didn’t cut at all. I don’t think she numbed it or anything. It was painless and quick. She just put a bandaid over it and I was good to go.

I’m glad you are seeing the dermatologist. I think all these answers should reassure you and you’ll be pleased with the result. Good luck.

It’s quite simple, painless and quick. They use a local anethesia which totally numbs the mole and the area immediately surrounding it. Your doctor will touch you and ask you if you can feel anything in the area before he starts. It’s a little unusual in that you can kind of hear the squish sound of the tool he is using to remove the mole. If you are concerned about that, you could call the doctor ahead of time and ask if he could prescribe you a one time only medication to calm your nerves, if you feel particularly nervous. I’m usually pretty squeamish, but having a mole removed (a big one from the middle of my forehead) was no big deal. I wasn’t nervous at all. Ask questions when you need to, during the procedure.

The worst part was afterwards when I took the bandage off the wound. It looked like a gunshot wound! At first, I kind of regretted my decision to have it removed because it looked horrific, but the doctor assured me that once it healed completely, and I used a topical medication to prevent bad scarring, that I would barely notice it.

I would say it took about 5 weeks for the wound to get to the point that I could start using the topical medication (you can’t use that until the wound has completely healed over). During this time, I simply put a small bandage over the wound and I stopped looking at/obssessing over it. I was very up front with people about why I had the bandage on my face, that way I was coming to terms with it and didn’t have to try to make up excuses.

After it healed over completely, I used one of the scar reducing medications, that came in a patch form for about 2 months after that. Now I only have a flat spot on my forehead, that is about one shade lighter than my skin color, barely noticeable at all. It’s about the size of a pencil eraser, but totally flat. Ask your doctor of your pharmacist about the patches, I can’t recall which product I used, but it may have been Mederma or Scar Away. You just cut a little piece of the patch, which is slightly sticky on the side that you adhere to the scar and change it everyday for about 2 months. Try not to get discouraged while the wound is healing, because it will look awful for quite awhile. Then give the patches about 2 months to really make a difference, but I think you’ll be pleased with the result.

PM me if you want more info. : )

Thanks, everyone. :)

My appointment is today. I will let you know how it goes.

Yeah @AnonymousGirl ! Good luck!

@AnonymousGirl I’ll be thinking about you today. PM me later and let me know how it goes. : )

Thanks, both of you! The Dermatologist lady was super nice and understood that I wanted it removed today. She warned me that there would be a scar. She made a joke about how the mole really was not my friend at all (because she could tell I didn’t like it one bit), haha. I feel really happy. She froze the area and did other things (I closed my eyes during it and kept telling myself “You want this” over and over to ignore any potential pain). I’m not sure what the area looks like now. It has a band-aid on it and she told me not to remove it until tomorrow morning and then to apply Vaseline (ointment) on it until it heals after that. I am hoping that it won’t hurt after the freezing wears off… but I did hear her say “It looks better already” before she put the band-aid on.

Yeah!!!!!! I think you will be really happy. As soon as it heals up, go get a super cute hair cut without worrying about how you will hide it!!

That’s something I really want to do, so I think that’s a wonderful idea. :) I also feel that I will be a lot more confident job hunting now! That has been something I’ve been avoiding, but I don’t feel as strong of a need to avoid it anymore. :)

Go girl!

Yay! Let us know how it heals up and if you feel better now that it is gone.

The last time I checked that area, I saw a pink circle (scar). I was warned this could happen, though, so it’s no big deal. ^_^

@AnonymousGirl The pink will fade. Sounds good! For now you can cover it with makeup if you want.

It will fade? Sweet. :)

@AnonymousGirl It should. Red/pinkness usually fades after 6 months, sometimes sooner.