When you need medical care quickly, it can be helpful to turn to urgent care services. One of the services available from your doctor is skin lesion removal.

Why You Might Need a Skin Lesion Removed

Skin lesions can be an indicator of skin cancer, one of the most common types of cancer. You might need a skin lesion removed and sent for a biopsy, to determine if cancerous cells are present. You might also need a skin lesion removed if it is large or in a prominent location.

What an Abnormal Skin Lesion Looks Like

There are some important characteristics of skin lesions that could indicate abnormalities, including skin cancer. You might need a skin lesion removed if it is:

• Large, with a diameter of 6 mm or greater
• Irregular, with an asymmetrical shape
• Ragged, with poorly defined borders
• Recurrent, growing back after previous removal
• Bleeding, itchy, or failing to heal
• Changing in size, color, or shape

How Your Urgent Care Doctor Can Remove a Skin Lesion

Your urgent care doctor may suggest several ways to remove a skin lesion. Your doctor will discuss each of the removal options with you and may recommend:

Cutting or shaving underneath and around the lesion is an excellent choice for a smaller skin lesion because it doesn’t require sutures.

Using a punching instrument to remove the lesion, which removes the entire lesion. Removing the lesion with an instrument requires sutures to close the skin where the lesion was removed.

Mohs micrographic technique provides the best aesthetic look because very minimal tissue is removed. The lesion is removed one layer at a time, and each layer is examined under a microscope to check for abnormal cells.

Want to Know More?

To find out more about skin lesion removal in urgent care and what to expect, call Dr. Wm. Ryan Bartz at Apex Health & Wellness in Selmer, TN. You can reach him in the office by calling (731) 437-2720, so call today.