Atypical Moles: What are They? Board certified Dermatologist Dr. Reagan Anderson explains the causes and symptoms of Atypical Moles, and provides an overview of the various surgery and treatment options. Watch this video to learn more about Atypical Moles, and thoroughly understand how it may impact the lives of patients.
The concept of an atypical mole is hotly debated in dermatology. and so, if you get 10 dermatologists in a room, you’re probably going to get 20 different opinions. let’s start with what a normal mole is. we have normal moles. all we have to do is look at them once a month in the mirror. make sure they’re not changing or growing or misbehaving in some way or form. and if
They change, grow, or misbehave, like bleed or itch or something like that, then go see your ’cause we need to look at them to make sure they’re okay. that is a skin cancer that happens from the melanocytes or the pigment producing cells melanomas are really, really bad. and we have videos on what a melanoma skin cancer is, so please watch those for more information. and in
Between the concept of a normal mole, and the melanoma, is this concept of an atypical mole. now, please do not think that the normal progression is to go from a normal mole to an atypical mole, and then to melanoma and that’s predetermined and destined. we know what a normal mole is, and we know what a melanoma is, and then everything in the middle, middle as either mild,
Moderate, or severely atypical. now the vast majority of dermatologist think that a mildly atypical mole that does not all we have to do is watch those, to make sure they don’t return. the vast majority of us do not recommend excising those, or removing a mildly atypical mole under normal circumstances. now on the flip side of the coin is the severely atypical mole, and the
Vast majority of dermatologists recommend cutting those out, and stitching it up, and then watching the area very closely, and that’s where we really don’t have good consensus on what to do with these. some dermatologists recommend removing them, and some recommend just monitoring them. or a moderate, but they probably should be excised. but if you just take a biopsy of a
Moderately atypical mole, that’s where there’s a lot of so please, talk to your local dermatologist about what they recommend for you. can i give you an exact percentage of what a mild or moderate or severely atypical mole, what percentage of those will turn into melanomas? and i can’t. we say they have a unknown biologic potential of turning into melanoma. now for milds
That is so low, that we usually recommend just monitoring them to make sure they don’t come back, and if they do we cut them out. for moderate, that’s where all the debate is, and for severely atypical moles, but by no means does having either a mild, moderate, or severe guarantee that you’ll have guys, it’s really hard for us to design a study, and dermatologists say,
“Hey, you have a bunch let’s just wait and follow you over 10 years, and see us something bad happens.” and so we have to do is, we have to rely on data on people who have these, and then don’t have them treated, and then actually do return for follow up, and follow them over a number of years to see how many turn into melanomas. and we just don’t have the actual numbers
And what makes the topic a little bit more these moles biopsied, each pathologist who reads these, reads and classifies and grades so, if you were to send your mole to someone on the east coast versus someone on the west one might say mild, one might say moderate. also, that’s what makes this conversation a little now, the one thing we do know about these atypical moles
That we’re fairly certain about, is that you have, the increased risk you carry of developing a melanoma somewhere on your body. and again that’s what we want to avoid, and catch it as early as possible, and treat it as quickly as possible so if you’ve only ever had one atypical mole, your chances of getting a melanoma are a little 15 or 20 atypical moles, your chances of
Developing a melanoma somewhere on your body are greatly so we have to be very careful, and monitor you often. now if you’ve only ever had one atypical mole, we still want to see you at least once a year, to look your body over once a month in the mirror, to notice if there’s anything new or changing or growing. but if you’ve had tons and tons of these, we might be seeing
You multiple times a year, so that we can do our job, and you do your job, and the two will meet in the because honestly, prevention is way better than treatment for almost every topic out there are two basic things that you can do to help not get more atypical moles. number one is, you guessed it, stay out of the tanning beds and do not stay in the sun without so, please
Always have a hat on and some protective clothing, and sunscreen on the exposed parts now, we have a video that talks about sunscreens and which ones we recommend, so, please watch that. the better our bodies will treat us back. and if we have a really good diet full of good fruits and veggies and you know, all the stuff that we know that we should be doing? our whole
It will do better. and we all know that exercising is good for our mind, body and spirit. so, please talk to your local doctors to make sure that you are cleared for the exercise routine that you’re considering, and then please get 30 minutes of good exercise a day. so please, if you have any questions, talk to your local dermatologist. have a conversation with them. if
You’re uncomfortable or have any other questions, get a second opinion. we’re here to help you become comfortable in your skin. when it’s released. and please share with your friends and family so that when they’re going through similar things, they have the knowledge that they need.
Transcribed from video
Atypical Moles: What Are They? [Dermatology] (2019) By Doctorpedia