I. What does a mole look like?
1.Morphology: It can be smooth, or convex hemispherical, papillary or tip-shaped.
2.Color: It can be black, blue-black, brown, or tan. 3.Hair: It can be hairless or hairy.
4.Number: It can be one, several or dozens.
2.What is melanoma?
1.A malignant tumor derived from melanocytes.
2. It can be caused by malignant transformation of benign pigmented nevus.
3. The death rate of patients with advanced disease is extremely high.
C. Such moles should be alerted.
A. Asymmetry, benign nevi are mostly round or symmetrical in shape.
B. Borderless moles, benign moles tend to have neat edges and need to be alert to moles with blurred edges.
C. Uneven color, note that the color of the same mole is uneven.
D. Diameter is too large, be alert to moles with diameter ≥6.
E.Evolution, change in size, shape, color, elevation, etc.
What should I do if I am worried about malignant change?
Moles in the following cases can be considered for removal: 1. Moles in the palms of the hands, feet, waist, armpits, groin, etc. that are prone to friction and are large in size.
2.Sudden changes (ABCDE mentioned above), or surface erosion, bleeding or swelling.
3.New black spots bleeding around the mole, suspected to be satellite lesions.
V. Three major principles of mole removal.
1. Do not remove benign moles if you can.
Many people ask to remove moles because they are aesthetic rather than healthy and not necessary.
2.Surgical removal is preferred.
If the laser mole does not reach the effective depth, the pigmented mole will easily recur.
3.If you can spot a mole once, not many times repeatedly, laser mole spotting will increase the risk of malignant change.