Benign Lesions

Prescott ‑ Prescott Valley ‑ Cottonwood

There are a wide variety of benign skin conditions that are common. These lesions may or may not need to be treated depending on the nature of the lesion. Two examples are actinic keratosis (AK) or seborrheic keratosis (SK).

AKs are sun damaged skin that is rough or scaly.

SKs are waxy, pasted-on lesions that are slow growing. These can sometimes mimic skin cancer but the experienced dermatologist can usually identify them by history and visual appearance. Sunspots or age spots are flat and generally do not need biopsy.

Most benign lesions may be treated with topical medications, creams, or ointments. Liquid Nitrogen is used to treat these lesions by freezing them which causes the lesion to separate from normal skin. Electrodessication and Curettage (ED & C) is another common treatment often referred to as burning a lesion off.

Lesions can also be removed with shave biopsy technique. Cysts form from glands in the skin and slowly continue to enlarge. They are generally excised under local anesthesia but are occasionally injected with Triamcinalone, a steroid preparation.

Lipomas are a mass that slowly grows and are normal fat tissue. There is no good explanation about why lipomas occur but excision under local anesthesia or liposuction are the two methods of treatment.

Dermatologist examining birthmarks and moles on a female patient

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We also provide a variety of in-office cosmetic and laser procedures.

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