Just about everyone has moles or skin growths, and though many are harmless, it’s smart to get skin growths checked out. If you have a troubling growth or lesion, book an appointment with one of our Water’s Edge practitioners. Knowing a little information about common benign (non-cancerous) skin growths may set your mind at ease.
What Are Common Types of Benign Skin Growths?
Keratoses: The most common benign growths that concern our patients are seborrheic keratoses, which look like raised bumps with a rough, warty surface.
Moles: Also known by the medical term “nevi,” moles are collections of melanocytes (pigment cells). They range in color from flesh-colored to black. To rule out melanoma or other skin cancer, we recommend you visit us for regular skin checks.
Enlarged oil glands: A common benign skin lesion on the face is a sebaceous hyperplasia, commonly called an enlarged oil gland. As we age these small, yellowish, smooth surfaced bumps develop on the cheeks and forehead.
Cysts and lipomas: Sebaceous cysts are usually painless and result from a buildup of oil and skin cells inside a sac-like structure. Lipomas are benign fatty tumors that grow just below the skin.
Mole and Growth Removal Treatment Options
We recommend an annual full-body skin exam and having any suspicious lesion checked by one of the board-certified dermatologists or our other qualified practitioners at Water’s Edge Dermatology. If you have cosmetic or comfort concerns about a benign growth, we can usually remove it surgically.
It’s also important to follow your Water’s Edge Dermatology provider’s instructions on how to care for your surgical wound: