What is a skin growth?

There are two main types of skin growths:

  1. Benign, which is NOT cancerous
  2. Malignant, which IS cancerous

If a growth is suspected to be malignant (cancer) a skin biopsy is taken and sent to the laboratory for evaluation. This pathologic evaluation will tell us what it is specifically and then a treatment plan can be devised.

If a growth is not malignant, it can be removed for cosmetic purposes, if someone just doesn't like it, or if it is bothersome, or in some cases when they can become cancerous. There are many different types of benign lesions and depending upon the depth of the lesion, the type of treatment (growth removal) will be different.

For superficial lesions that are in the epidermis (top layer of skin) only, cryosurgery is often used. For lesions that are in the superficial dermis (second layer of skin), sometimes they can be shaved down if they are elevated, treated with laser resurfacing, or by excision (cutting it out and stitching). For lesions that are deeper, they are usually surgically removed and stitched.

If you need a skin growth removed, such as cancer, Dr. Bader specializes in cutaneous oncology and skin growth removal.

If you want a growth removed for cosmetic purposes, Dr. Bader is fellowship trained in Dermatologic Plastic Surgery and will find the best option to remove your growth.