Moles (also called naevi) are areas of pigmented (or sometimes non-pigmented and raised) skin. Raised or flat, moles can be present from birth or can appear later in life. Most moles are harmless, but you may wish to have a mole removed for cosmetic reasons.

Sometimes a mole has to be removed because there is a risk it has become malignant (cancerous) or because it has become a nuisance (for example catching on clothes or a razor).

Various methods are used to remove moles. Raised moles can be removed by excision, using plastic surgical techniques of wound closure or sometimes using electrosurgery (radiofrequency treatment). Flat moles or moles that are suspected to be malignant (cancerous) are cut out entirely and the wound is sutured. Not all atypical moles turn out to be cancerous, but they are more likely than typical moles to develop into cancer. If a cancerous mole is diagnosed early, it can often be completely removed. You may also want to have normal moles removed, especially those that rub against clothing or get in the way of shaving or merely for cosmetic purposes.

After graduating from medical school in 1988, Dr Sharad Paul went on to complete his advanced training in General and Plastic Surgery before embarking on a primary care career. He teaches skin lesion removal and wound closure techniques at the University of Auckland and is a visiting Senior Lecturer (Skin Cancer) and International Advisor at the University of Queensland. He routinely teaches surgeons and skin cancer doctors in both Australia and New Zealand in mole removal techniques and in methods to obtain the best possible scars.