LAM FACIAL PLASTICS

Hi Dr. Lam,

I would like to thank you for the wealth of knowledge you have provided here on your website.

I am a 24 year old Korean male and have wanted a mole located on the right side of my nose removed for a very long time. I was not born with it but have had it ever since I can remember. According to my parents it is the result of some injury I sustained as a small child.

I consulted with a local plastic surgeon who informed that he would be able to perform an excision to remove the mole but at the risk of scarring and having the right side of nose "lifted" due to the suture.

My initial thoughts are I am more than willing to accept a scar in place of the mole but am a little nervous about the suture causing the right side of my nose to "lift". The plastic surgeon did say that he would do all he could to prevent it from happening or at least minimize the effect. He also mentioned that with time, the skin would loosen up.

I wanted a second opinion and after reading through many forums, I felt that you expert opinion would be invaluable. Thank you in advance!

i hate to disagree with him but you can't cut this out without causing serious problems. you won't be able to close this wound because the skin is too tight and trying to will not only lift the nose but cause distortion and still scarring. i would burn it off and deal with the fact that there would be a scar there and it still would probably need further treatments. the only way to definitively remove it is by doing either a sliding glabellar flap or a bilobed flap (you can google that) but these are large incisions across the nose that are not worth it, especially for an Asian because the lines will stay red for a long time and probably still not heal 100% perfectly. i always say let the punishment fit the crime. i don't think the punishment of a bilobed fits your "crime", i.e., the mole.

Thank you so much for your insight Dr. Lam. I truly appreciate your response and now knowing the consequences will opt not to have it cut. If I may ask one more question, besides burning, is there anything else at all I can do to reduce/minimize the appearance of the mole?

Very Respectfully,
Dan

you can look at lasers that target brown color too. that is about it really.