Removed Properly, and Sent for Testing
Anything we remove from your skin goes to pathology. That is not an upsell, it is the standard, and a practice that skips it is cutting a corner that matters.
Why We Do Not Simply Take It Off
Two things decide how a lesion should be handled: what it is, and where it sits. A cyst that is shelled out incompletely comes back, because the sac that produced it is still there. A mole shaved flush looks resolved and leaves no specimen worth examining.
So the approach is chosen for the lesion rather than for speed. Cysts and lipomas are removed with their capsule where possible. Moles and pigmented lesions are excised in a way that gives pathology something meaningful to look at. Skin tags and small benign growths are handled far more simply, and we will tell you when that is all yours needs.
Everything removed goes to pathology as standard. Most results come back exactly as expected. The point of sending them is the small number that do not, and that is the entire reason it is not optional here.
Book If You Have Any of These
If anything about a lesion concerns us on examination, we will tell you immediately and act accordingly rather than schedule you cosmetically.
Three Steps, Start to Finish
Examined and Identified
We look at the lesion properly before deciding anything. What it appears to be sets the technique and the urgency.
Removed Under Local
Numbed in the office, removed with the technique the lesion calls for, and closed to give the best scar available in that location.
Pathology and Follow Up
The specimen goes for testing, we go over wound care with you, and you hear the result from us either way.
If It Changed, Do Not Wait to Book It
A lesion that has changed in size, color, shape or symptoms is a reason to be seen sooner rather than at your convenience.
From the Appointment to the Result
Why the Capsule and the Specimen Matter
An epidermoid cyst is a sac lined with skin cells that keeps producing keratin into its own cavity. Draining it empties the contents and leaves the lining, which is why drained cysts refill. Removing the sac intact is what actually resolves it, and it is harder to do when the cyst is acutely inflamed.
For pigmented lesions the technique determines whether pathology can give a useful answer. A specimen that includes the full depth of the lesion allows the architecture to be assessed. A superficial shave can leave the most important part behind, both diagnostically and clinically.
Risks are those of any minor procedure: bleeding, infection, scarring, recurrence, and occasionally numbness near the site. Some locations scar more readily than others, and we will tell you before we start what the mark is likely to look like where yours sits.
What People Ask Us First
Yes, as standard. Most results come back exactly as expected, and the reason we send everything is the small number that do not. We will contact you with the result either way.
A cyst removed with its capsule intact generally does not. One that is drained rather than removed usually does. That difference is precisely why technique matters more than appointment length.
Yes. Any removal through the skin leaves a mark. The question is how it is placed, how it is closed and how you care for it while it matures. We will show you where the mark will sit before we start.
It depends on whether removal is medically indicated and on your specific plan. Removal for a symptomatic or concerning lesion often falls differently from purely cosmetic removal. We will tell you which category yours appears to be in.
We usually settle the inflammation first. Operating on an acutely inflamed cyst makes clean removal of the sac considerably harder and raises the chance it returns.
Often Considered Alongside This
Have It Looked At Properly.
Identifying what it is comes first. Whether and how to remove it follows from that, not the other way around.
4211 N. Buffalo Road, Suite 15, Orchard Park, NY 14127
