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When an atypical mole has been identified, a skin biopsy takes place in order to best diagnose it. Local anesthetic is used to numb the area, then the mole is biopsied. The biopsy material is then sent to a laboratory to be evaluated by a pathologist. A skin biopsy can be a punch, shave, or complete excision.
There are four main types of skin biopsies: shave biopsy, punch biopsy, excisional biopsy, and incisional biopsy. The choice of the different skin biopsies is dependent on the suspected diagnosis of the skin lesion. Like most biopsies, patient consent and anesthesia (usually lidocaine injected into the skin) are prerequisites. [citation needed]
Moles tend to go deeper into the skin than non-invasive lasers can penetrate. After a laser treatment, a scab is formed, which falls off about 7 days later, in contrast to surgery, where the wound has to be sutured. A second concern about the laser treatment is that if the lesion is a melanoma, and was misdiagnosed as a benign mole, the ...
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The added economic benefit is that many surgeons bill the procedure as an excision, rather than a shave biopsy. This save the added time for hemostasis, instruments, and suture cost. The great disadvantage, seen years later is the numerous scallop scars, and a very difficult to deal with lesions called a "recurrent melanocytic nevus".
Shave biopsy is a biopsy procedure in which a skin abnormality and a thin layer of surrounding skin are removed with a small blade for examination under a microscope. Shave biopsies are not effective in treating melanomas, but can provide a reasonably safe and accurate initial diagnosis. [1] Surgical sutures are not needed with this procedure. [2]
The performance of a shave biopsy (see skin biopsy) might not acquire enough information for a diagnosis. An inadequate biopsy might be read as actinic keratosis with follicular involvement. A deeper biopsy down to the dermis or subcutaneous tissue might reveal the true cancer. An excision biopsy is ideal, but not practical in most cases.