LAM FACIAL PLASTICS

Hello Dr. Lam,

I'm from San Antonio Texas and I am currently 18 years old. I have been exploring your website and I am very intrigued by what I see considering I am in very close approximation to you, and you are a very successful Doctor. I have been considering mole removal for quite some time now but have never had them removed, or even checked, I did not feel like I could trust just any dermatologist. I have a few moles on my face, some larger than others. I also have a few moles spread across my chest. I have wondered what it would be like without them. When I was younger my family Doctor told me I should consider having the ones from my face removed and now I am finally considering it because I feel like you are fit for the job and have a tremendous amount of experience in this field. I would love to meet with you in person and I hope one day we can meet face to face, but for now I can post pictures so you can see them and hopefully you can determine whether or not Mole Removal is for me. Thank you Dr. Lam

sure, post some photos here and let me take a look. body moles tend to heal poorly and in general i would discourage removal of them.

I believe the following four photos do a great job at showing my facial moles and one of the pictures shows the moles on my chest, but because they tend to not heal as well I am more concerned with the ones on my face considering they are constantly visible. Tell me what you think, Thanks again.

with young flawless skin, there is always a risk that the incision no matter what i do may be slightly more visible than you would like. there is never an easy answer. if you burn them off, they will most likely come back or leave a colored splotch so i would say that surgical excision would be your best bet. the only problem is that it will take a little while to heal and you would need multiple visits to see me sometimes 5 to 6 times. that is something you would have to be comfortable with. and as referenced at the beginning, there will be a line there as a tradeoff. the goal is to make that line as hard to see as possible.
s.

I have given it great thought, and I believe I still want to have this procedure done. I do not mind having to make multiple visits, that is not an issue. My main concern is the tradeoff, after watching your video on YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZgbEXMS7nA, I am convinced that you can make the tradeoff line very faint, with time. The two moles i would like to have removed are the ones on my right cheek, the bigger one and the smaller one down to the left. Due to the size, and location of my mole relative to my face, are the chances for scarring greater or less? Also, when/if I can have these two removed how long will the tradeoff lines be, and how long will the scars take to heal, somewhere towards a year? I trust that you know your stuff, I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you

scarring in your location of the face is less because the cheek area there is extra skin and near the mouth tends to heal faster. yes, a year is what you should expect for recovery.
s.

Well that is great news to hear. What is the next step in this process?

call my office for the fastest results of an appt. 972-312-8188. you can just schedule the procedure when they give you a price quote. tell them i have already had a consultation with you via the forum.
best,
s.

Dr. Lam,

I had two more questions, how long will the incisions be?
And, because I will be attending school in the fall at A&M at Galveston I know I will be on the beach for extended hours where it is often quite sunny, will my incision be able to withstand such heat and direct sunlight? Will I be able to put a band aid on it at any point? Let me know what you think, Thanks again

the incision length is typically just shy of 3 mole lengths, add one mole length on either side of it. sun avoidance is a good idea for 6 weeks following the procedure so that it does not turn darker for a few months. yes, bandaid would be acceptable but you do risk a tan line then from the band-aid.