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Announcement
"Patients' Choice Award" by Vitals.com
Dr. Sam Naficy has been awarded the "Patients' Choice Award" by Vitals.com - a website dedicated to rating the quality of physicians across the country. Out of 720,000 physicians, only 5% received this honor.
Moles
Moles (nevus or nevi) are growths on the skin that are usually pigmented (either brown or black) but may be flesh-colored. Moles can appear anywhere on the skin and most adults have between 10-40 moles.
The majority of moles are benign, will never pose a threat to the health of the person, and will not need any treatment. Any mole that shows changes in size, shape, color, elevation, bleeds, itches, or becomes painful, may need additional treatment.
The simplest way to tell whether a mole is harmless or not is by a biopsy. Biopsy of a mole involved removal of a portion of it to study it under a microscope. This is a simple, quick, and easy office procedure.
There are many types of moles (nevi) as determined by the physical appearance of the mole as well as by the pathologist:
- Junctional nevi are flat and brown to black moles, located along the junction of the epithelium and the underlying dermis.
- Compound nevi are slightly raised and brown to black moles.
- Intradermal nevi are raised, typically flesh-colored moles, and located in the dermis only.
- Dysplastic nevi tend to be larger (more than 6mm) moles, with irregular borders and irregular color.
- Blue nevi have nevus cells situated very deep in the dermis.
- Spitz nevi are raised and reddish, most often occur on the face, scalp, or legs of preadolescent children.
A person may wish to get rid of moles that are irritating them, or simply because they are unattractive. Most procedures used to remove moles take only a short time and can be performed in the office. Options for more removal include:
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