Removed Mole Reappearing?
September 17, 2010 4:08 PM   Subscribe

Removed mole reappearing?

About two months ago, I had a small, dark mole on the back of my leg that became raised. I started rubbing at it and it flaked off, leaving a little hole. I was freaked out and went to my dermatologist, who did a shave biopsy of the area--it came back benign, and showed an irritated hair follicle. The shave wound has totally healed over, but now I see a tiny, dark dot where it looks like the mole's pigment has returned. This is not an ingrown hair--it is definitely pigmentation. Should I be worried? I made an appointment with my derm for next week to take a look just in case, but I'm trying to assess how much I should be freaking out here. Am I going to die?
posted by anonnymoose to Health & Fitness (9 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
That happened to me. The dr. said it was fairly common and that I shouldn't worry unless it started to exhibit signs of melanoma. It's about a third of the size of the original move.
posted by runningwithscissors at 4:15 PM on September 17, 2010


mole*
posted by runningwithscissors at 4:16 PM on September 17, 2010


If they didn't get every single bit of it*, it's not unusual for it to grow back. It's just how it works. You are absolutely not going to die.

*Which may happen next time since it's growing back, but a pathologist has already looked at it and it's not cancer. It's just a thing. Totally not going to die.
posted by Lyn Never at 4:19 PM on September 17, 2010


Thirding. I had one removed a few years ago, and there's another back in its place. Smaller and lighter, but there. Doctor said not to worry about it since the initial tests showed it was just a normal little mole.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:25 PM on September 17, 2010


A shave biopsy is a very shallow removal that often grows back. If your results were benign and you feel your is doctor trustworthy, you have nothing to worry about. If you are still bothered by it, ask your dermatologist for the pathology report and have it reviewed independently. You can also ask to have the mole completely excised.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 4:42 PM on September 17, 2010


Fifthing the consensus of the thread - happened to me too.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 5:03 PM on September 17, 2010


Hasn't happen to me, but when I got a raised mole removed a few years ago, my dermatologist told me it was more likely than not that it would grow back eventually and I could remove it again if it did if I wanted.
posted by brainmouse at 5:04 PM on September 17, 2010


My boyfriend had a couple of moles removed by a dermatologist, and I was suprised at how much tissue had to be removed. His were removed using a punch, like a hole punch for skin (!), and the resulting wound had to be stitched closed. Apparently moles have a "root" and if you don't get it all it'll grow back. So the reappearance is nothing to worry about, especially since your biopsy came back clean.
posted by keep it under cover at 5:30 PM on September 17, 2010


Same thing happened to me- my derm did the shave thing first because it would leave a smaller scar, and one doesn't want to give a teenage girl unnecessary scars. It was made clear from the beginning that there was a chance it would come back. It did come back, and he removed it again with a deeper method. It was benign both times. You're doing the right thing by getting it checked, but the worst you should worry about is getting a slightly bigger scar.
posted by doift at 10:40 PM on September 18, 2010


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