Mole Removal The STAIANO Way – One Visit Instead Of Three

Mole Removal In Birmingham – One Stop Clinic

 

Traditionally if you have a problem like a mole or a cyst that you do not like, you would need to go through a process to have it removed which would require at least three visits to the doctor.

THE TRADITIONAL WAY

  • 1st VISIT – you would make an appointment with your GP who would then refer you to a specialist
  • 2nd VISIT – you would see the specialist who would look at your mole or cyst and put you on a list to come back and have it removed
  • 3rd VISIT – you would come back to the hospital for your cyst or mole removal procedure

This can be frustrating if you work or have a busy life because it involves three separate appointments at different times.

You will often know what procedure that you want – to have your mole removed and so why should you need to see two doctors and have three separate visits?

At The STAIANO Clinic, you can have it all taken care of in ONE APPOINTMENT.

To streamline the process, you do not need to see your GP for a referral before coming to see us.  You can contact us directly and then we will communicate with your GP afterwards.

THE STAIANO WAY

  • STEP ONE – let us know what procedure you are interested in and we will send you some information and guide prices
  • STEP TWO – if it is a mole or cyst or something that you would like to have removed, then send us a photograph.   This allows one of our clinic nurses to take a look and assess the suitability for surgery and to also give you a more accurate idea of what it would cost to have it removed.
  • 1st VISIT – come to the clinic for a consultation and mole removal on the same day in our ‘see & treat’ clinic.

If you have any questions, then you can email the clinic or you can join me on a Tuesday evening at 7pm for my live Q&A on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

You would be welcome to come to the clinic for an assessment with one of our plastic surgeons before committing to having your mole removed, but if you are comfortable with everything and you do not want to come back for a second consultation, we offer our ‘see & treat’ clinic.

This means that you only need to take one time off work and you can come to the clinic, meet with one of our plastic surgeons and have your consultation, just like you would normally, but if you feel comfortable to go ahead with the procedure on the day, then we will take you to the operating suite and remove your mole or cyst there and then.

There is never any obligation to proceed if you do not feel comfortable and although we take a deposit, we will refund it in full if you do not go ahead with your procedure for any reason.

I have set this system up because I am always looking for ways to stand out from the competition and to look at how I can deliver more value and give a better service to my patients.

From your point of view, you cannot really lose because you will be having a consultation and you will have the choice whether to go ahead or not.

From the clinic point of view, it is not very efficient and this is why not many clinics will offer this service.  If you choose not to go ahead with your procedure on the day, then we will have lost out, because we will have a big gap in the clinic.

…but I don’t mind this, because there is always a price to pay for being different and standing out.

Removing a mole without leaving a scar

I am often asked about removing a mole without leaving a scar.

There is a lot written on the Internet about this and YouTube seems to be full of videos of people demonstrating home remedies that can ‘quickly and easily remove your mole leaving no visible scarring‘.

The reality is that it is not possible to remove a mole without leaving a scar of some sort.

We are all specialists at mole removal at The STAIANO Clinic and often the scars fade so well that they are difficult to see and so people think that they are not there.

Removal of 3 moles on the forehead by shave excision

The question should not be ‘how do I remove my mole without leaving a scar?‘,

it should be ‘how do I remove my mole leaving the best scar possible?

There are many ways to remove a mole but the common theme is that the piece of skin that contains the pigment cells of the mole needs to be destroyed in some way.

  • You can burn it with heat or energy like a laser.
  • You can destroy it with acid.
  • You can scrape it off.
  • Or you can cut it out with a knife.

They will all remove your mole and they will all leave a mark or scar of some kind.

There are pros and cons of each method and so you need to weigh up what would be the best for you.

Perhaps the most important question is to find out whether there is anything suspicious about your mole. The best way to test this is to send it away for histological analysis.

This is only possible to do if your mole is removed by cutting it out with a knife because all the other ways will destroy the tissue and so it cannot be analysed.

removing a mole without leaving a scar

Before and after removing a mole without leaving a scar

This is particularly important for brown moles because even if there is no concern that they are cancerous, there may be reasons to get a histological report anyway.

If you were to develop signs of skin cancer later on in life such as enlarged lymph notes, your doctors would look closely at your skin for a potential source of the cancer.

If you tell them that you had a mole removed some years ago, then they would want to see a histological report to confirm that that was not the cause of your current problems.

If the mole was not sent away for histology, then there is no way to be sure that it wasn’t actually cancerous.

In terms of the scarring created, then it can be variable for all the modalities of treatment.

When destroying the skin with heat, laser energy or acid, it can be difficult to judge the amount of energy needed to completely destroy the mole.

If you do not use enough energy then there may be evidence of a residual mole left behind
…and if you use too much then this can increase the scarring.

It is more predictable when you use a knife, if it is being used in skilled hands.

My advice for patients who want to know the best way to remove their mole without leaving a scar is this:

  1. First of all, there is no way to remove a mole without leaving a scar
  2. Secondly that excising it with a knife is probably the most predictable and effective way, with the added benefit of allowing us to perform histological analysis if required.

If you have a mole that you are concerned about the first thing to do is to get it checked out by a doctor.

We offer virtual consultations if you would like an assessment and opinion by one of our fully trained plastic surgeons and we also offer a ‘see & treat’ service that will allow you to have your mole removed on the same day as your consultation if this is something that you would like to consider.

Please feel free to comment on my blog and if you want to get in touch you can email me at [email protected] or call us on 0121 454 3680

 

You can send us a photo of your mole on WhatsApp if you would like one of the team to have a look at it:

 

Removing a Beauty Spot

If you have a beauty spot and you would like to have it removed then we offer a ‘see & treat’ service where you can have a consultation with one of our plastic surgeons and go straight ahead and have the beauty spot removed there and then on the same day as the consultation.

A beauty spot is usually a benign mole and there is not anything to particularly worry about but they are in prominent positions on the face and so it is not uncommon for people to want to have them removed.

Of course there are icons of fashion such as Cindy Crawford and Marilyn Monroe who are famous for their beauty spots which are distinguishing features and something that they have obviously embraced.

However not everyone feels this way about their beauty spot and whilst some may think that they look attractive, some may feel differently.

If you are unhappy with your beauty spot and want to have it removed then it is usually something that can be done relatively quickly and painlessly in our minor operating suite.

We are all fully qualified plastic surgeons at the Clinic and we are careful to plan removal of your beauty spot to leave the least scarring so that once things have faded it is difficult to see where your beauty spot was.

If you have got a beauty spot that you would like to have removed, we offer consultations with a plastic surgeon and will give you honest advice with never any pressure to proceed.

If you have any questions you can contact us on 0121-454 3680 or email us at [email protected]

I do a live Q&A every Tuesday at 7 pm on Facebook so feel free to comment or ask a question.

Lipoma Removal

Lipoma removal is one of the procedures we perform at the STAIANO Clinic on a ‘see & treat’ basis.

Lipomas (or lipomata) are fatty lumps underneath the skin and they can occur anywhere in the body.

The overlying skin looks normal but you can usually feel a bump and sometimes see a bump caused by the underlying lump.

Lipomas are fatty lumps. They are made up of normal fat but there is just too much of it in the area.

Lipomas are nothing to worry about and very rarely cause any problems apart from being unsightly and potentially uncomfortable.

This is a lipoma on the flank that is uncomfortable against the bra strap:

While this is a lipoma on the forehead which is visible in certain lights:

As plastic surgeons, we take care to hide our scars and can perform lipoma removal through minimal incisions which are carefully placed to ensure that they are as inconspicuous as possible as you can see from the two cases above.

They can occur singly or they can be multiple and some patients can have literally hundreds of them.

One of the challenges of lipoma removal is knowing how deep the lipoma is.  A lipoma can occur at any depth in your body and it can be hard to tell how deep they are.

If we are concerned and are worried that your lipoma may lie deep underneath your skin, then we may organise a scan and could suggest that surgery is done under a general anaesthetic rather than a local anaesthetic.

The mainstay of treatment is surgical and involves making a small incision over the lipoma under local anaesthetic and removing it as seen in the video below:

Surgery is done on a walk in, walk out basis and a small scar will be left from where the incision was made.

The size of the scar depends on the size of the lipoma, but we can normally remove them through a smaller scar than the size of the lump because we can squeeze them out.

If you are interested in lipoma removal we offer free consultations so you can come and be examined by one of our plastic surgeons who will go over the options available to you.

To find out more about lipoma removal and to get an idea of prices click here or call us on 0121-454 3680.

5 ways to treat keloid scars

Keloid scars are an abnormal form of scarring that occur in some individuals.

They are more common in certain skin types such as Afro-Caribbean skin and they are also more common in certain areas such as the earlobes, the shoulders or over the breast bone.

They are raised lumpy scars which are often itchy and are darker in colour to the normal skin colour so they can be red or purple in Caucasian skin or darker brown in pigmented skin.

They are difficult to treat because it is an abnormal response by the body and we don’t really know why they occur.

There are five main forms of treatment for keloid scars:

1. Moisturising and Massage

If your scar is only slightly raised and particularly if it is within the first year then you may have a hypertrophic scar rather than a keloid scar and these tend to be less severe and more likely to improve over time.

Moisturising and massaging the scar will help it to soften and may help with the itch.

2. Silicone

The next step would be to use silicone on the scar.

Silicone comes in 2 forms, a gel or a sheet.

Silicone sheets are useful on flat areas particularly underneath clothes because while the silicone sheets are sticky, they do not stay on well on exposed areas.

For keloid scars in exposed places like the face or the ears, silicone gel is more effective.

The silicone needs to stay on for 23 hours of the day and is only taken off to wash.

It can help with the red and raised nature of the scar and also the itch.

3. Pressure

Pressure is known to improve the quality of keloid scars although it is dependent on the area as to whether it can be used as a modality for treatment.

Keloid scars on the earlobes may be amenable to having pressure applied by using a custom-made clip which will press on the scar and can help it to flatten.

Other areas of the body can be more difficult to apply pressure to although it may be possible to have a custom-made garment depending on the size and location of the scar.

For severe scarring of the face, a custom mask can be made to apply pressure, although this is only for extreme cases.

4. Steroid Injections

The next step for troublesome keloid scarring is to use steroid injections.

Steroids are used to dampen down inflammation and it is presumed that the cause of the keloid scarring is an inflammatory reaction within the scar.

The steroid needs to be injected into the scar itself and this can be uncomfortable.

Steroid injection is a procedure that can be performed in the outpatient clinic and may need to be repeated.

5. Excision Of Keloid Scars

One of the last options we consider, but perhaps one of the first options that many people think about, is excision of the scar.

It may seem an obvious choice to excise and give a fresh neat scar. However because keloid scarring is due to your body’s reaction to forming scars, there is a high probability that if a fresh scar was made, it could be keloid again and it could come back worse because the new scar would be longer than the original one.

Excision of a keloid scar is sometimes performed if it is a very large and bulky scar that is unlikely to be significantly reduced with steroid, pressure or silicone.

When excision of a keloid scar is considered, we would usually perform what is known as an intralesional excision of the scar which involves leaving a rim of keloid scar behind so that fresh skin is not cut into.

This leaves a residual lump which can then be treated with one of the other methods above such a steroid injection, pressure clips and silicone dressings or a combination.

 

 

The treatment of keloid scar is challenging and as you go up the ladder of increasingly invasive methods then the potential risks also increase.

This is an outline of what is available for keloid scars but each patient needs to be treated on a bespoke and personal level with a package or combination of treatments which will give the best possible outcome.

If you would like a consultation with one of our Plastic Surgeons for an assessment of your keloid scar then you can call us on 0121-454 3680, alternatively email us a photograph if you would like us to give you an opinion.

Book A Virtual Consultation Here:


For more information about scar revision, visit our scar revision page.

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Cost of Mole Removal

It is a very common question for us to get from prospective patients ‘what is the cost of mole removal?‘.

I think if I was having a mole removed this is a question that I would ask and this is often the only question paying patients ask.

I think this is because it is hard to know what questions to ask and certainly asking about the cost is an obvious, easy and important one.

The problem we have is that if you are comparing our service with others purely on the cost, you may find that we charge more than other clinics.

It is not unusual for patients to come back to us and say that they have found it a lot cheaper elsewhere and we realise that this is the case.

In this video, I explain why you should consider the other factors, apart from just the cost:

  1. Cost Of A Plastic Surgeon

All our surgeons are fully trained plastic surgeons which is unusual when it comes to mole removal.

All sorts of doctors perform mole removal and most are not fully trained surgeons, let alone plastic surgeons.

There is nothing inherently wrong with this and it may be that a dermatologist or a GP with no formal surgical training can safely and effectively remove your mole.

However, as plastic surgeons, we have spent years and often decades honing and refining our techniques, tissue handling, and placement of scars, so that we ensure that we get the best result possible, and minimising trauma to the tissues and taking care with scar placement we often get a reputation for leaving no scars at all.

Everyone will leave a scar no matter what they say, but the quality of scar can vary dramatically according to the practitioner that you chose.
Furthermore, as plastic surgeons, we are also trained in treatment of skin cancers and reconstruction so we can treat any mole or skin lesion regardless of its size or location.

The story goes that Picasso was sitting in a Paris cafe when an admirer approached and asked if he would do a quick sketch on a paper napkin.

Picasso politely agreed, swiftly executed the work, and handed back the napkin ” but not before asking for a rather significant amount of money.

The admirer was shocked: How can you ask for so much? It took you a minute to draw this!
No, Picasso replied, It took me 40 years

You are not just paying for the time that the surgeon takes to perform your procedure, you are paying for the years of experience it has taken them to refine their art.

If you compare our costs with having surgery done by a Plastic Surgeon elsewhere, you will find that we are usually a lot cheaper because we have our own surgical facility and do not need to use the facilities of a hospital.

  1. The Cost Of Histology

It is good practice to send pigmented moles away for histology.

This is included in the cost of mole removal at The STAIANO Clinic.

Histology is expensive because it needs to be sent away to London, analysed under a microscope, and then reported on, to ensure there is nothing to worry about.

Often we can tell clinically that moles are benign, but it is sometimes nice to have a histological report for peace of mind and also for the future if any other new lesion or lumps or bumps crop up, it is good to know exactly what your mole was.

We do not charge extra for this service, because we believe in providing one fixed price that covers every eventuality.

  1. The Cost Of Aftercare

The underlying theme at The STAIANO Clinic is that we ensure that we do everything we can to look after our patients.

Once you are a patient of ours we never discharge you, and you can always come back if you have any questions or concerns at any time, whether it is before or after your procedure.

We do not change for consultations for mole removal so you can come and talk to the plastic surgeon about what might be possible and the sort of results you could achieve with no obligation to proceed.

Once you have had your procedure, we will see you to remove your dressing and sutures if required and will continue to see you to check on your scar and give you advice about scar management to ensure that you get the best scar possible and are completely happy with everything.

This attention to detail and commitment to ensure every patient has the best result is one of the reasons why there are so many happy patients and good reviews.

We may not be able to compete on price but we can certainly compete on service and aftercare and deliver this to a world class standard.

If you ever were to have any problem, need any further surgery, or continued input and advice, we would always be there for you.

It is hard to put a price on these things and often you don’t realise their value until you need them.

Cost is always a factor but so is value.

There is nothing worse than paying for something and feel that you are not getting value for money, but at the same time, sometimes it is worth paying more for something if you can see the value.

Our clinic is based on delivering value over and above the norm in everything that we do, constantly striving to improve the experience for our patients, and this shows in the positive feedback that we receive.

We are one of the few clinics in the country who offer a see and treat service for moles and cysts, which means that we are happy to block out enough time to see you in the clinic and remove your mole on the same day to save you having to come back, although we are fully prepared to postpone or delay the surgery if you are not happy for any reason, so this in itself is not an efficient use of our operating theatre, but we do it because it is providing a better service to our patients, which has always been our primary focus.

I believe that by investing in our service, in our expertise, and in the results that we can deliver, we can give more value to our patients and get better outcomes.

When you take it all together, you will see that the cost of mole removal at The STAIANO Clinic is actually quite competitive if you compare the service that we are offering, to that of others.

The cost of mole removal is from £750 and that includes all of your Consultations with one of our Plastic Surgeons, histological analysis of your mole and all of your aftercare.  If you have multiple moles, it is £350 for each additional mole.

If you are unsure if it is worth it, why don’t you come along for a free consultation and come and meet us and you can get a feel of what we offer before making a decision.

If you have any questions feel free to get in touch or leave a comment and I would be happy to get back to you.

If you have any questions, you can always join me on Facebook where I do a live Q and A every Tuesday at 7 p.m. and I will be available live to interact and discuss any issues.

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Different Types Of Skin Cancer

Cancer is a very emotive word and when people hear the diagnosis of cancer they understandably will conjure images of prolonged unpleasant treatment and poor prognosis.

However, when it comes to skin cancer, it can cover a range of different types of cancer from the relatively mild form which can be cured by minor surgery, through to the more aggressive types which can carry with them a poor prognosis.

There are three main types of skin cancer and they can usually be distinguished on their clinical appearance:

  1. first is a BCC basal carcinoma
  2. next an SCC squamous cell carcinoma,
  3. and the other is malignant melanoma. 

Malignant melanoma is in a category of its own, which is why the other types of skin cancer are sometimes known as the non-melanoma skins cancers.

They usually look quite different in that BCCs and SCCs are red patches of dry crusty skin which can be confused with a spot that does not heal up.

They sometimes ulcerate and may bleed or itch. 

Melanoma on the other hand tends to be a pigmented lesion, in that it is brown, can start in an existing mole, or present as a new mole.

It is usually identified by a change in a mole and it becomes bigger, smaller, or starts itching or bleeding. 

They are both due to sun exposure (this is why I keep going on about having SPF on a daily basis not just when it is sunny outside).

However, melanoma is more associated with sunburn, particularly sunburn as a child, but it is very common in sunny climates like Australia.

BCC and SCC are more associated with chronic sun exposure
and because our skin is exposed to the sun all the time, over the years this sun exposure can take its toll, which is why BCCs and SCCs are more common the older we get and it is also why they are more common in sun exposed areas such as the face.

Melanoma is at one end of the spectrum and it can be quite a significant disease.

It can spread rapidly
and can be associated with a very poor prognosis which is why if you have any moles that you are worried about you will need to get them checked out on an urgent basis.

On the other hand, BCCs and SCCs which do not tend to look like moles but more like red patches of skin or spots and can sometimes be confused as insect bites, are less aggressive, with BCCs being milder than SCCs.

BCC and SCC can often be cured by removing them and may only involve a minor operation with the main aim to make sure that they are removed completely and if they are completely removed then they may need no further treatment.

This is why they have to be excised and you should not consider other treatment such as curettage or shave because removal of normal skin all the way round and deep to the lesion needs to be attained in order to ensure they have been completely removed.

I have written a guide with what to look for in a mole. 

If you are concerned, then the bottom line is if you have any changes or are worried about it, then you should go to your GP or come and see us to get things checked out.

We will let you know if there is anything to worry about
or whether you can simply just keep an eye on things.

Do not panic if you get a diagnosis of skin cancer because it might be one of the milder forms such as BCC which really is not what we normally associate with cancer because once BCCs are completely excised, they do not need any further treatment.

You simply just have to keep an eye out for further lesions because once you have had one you are at a higher risk of getting others.

It is important that we are all vigilant with our skin, look out for any moles or spots that are changing, and as always prevention is better than cure, so be sensible in the sun, keep covered up, use suntan lotion and regularly re-apply it, and without wanting to sound like a broken record, consider incorporating SPF into your daily regime of skin care.

Play safe in the sun.

 

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What is Life-Changing Surgery?

I was invited to a talk on the radio this morning about scar management following a story of a football supporter who had been attacked and had sustained a long laceration to his cheek.
The conversation revolved around the scarring and the emotional impact of scars and what can be done about it.

I am always cautious when talking about scar revision because sometimes people think that plastic surgeons can remove a scar but that is not true.
I think we get that reputation because when we make a scar, we choose where to put them and know how to hide them in natural skin creases or in areas of the body where there are concavities or shadows, so that they can blend in and once settled, can be difficult to see.

Of course, it is a different story with traumatic scars and they are usually a lot more obvious than surgically created scars.
There are things we can do to change the direction of the scar and to improve them if they are raised up or dented in, which is interesting, because the discussion moved onto the psychological impact of having scar revision. 
It is true that the surgery itself is often quite minimal and usually done under local anaesthetic on a walk-in, walk-out basis and the results really can be truly life-changing – except when the definition of a minor operation is one that is not happening to you.
We as surgeons can sometimes think that we are performing minor surgery, but for the patient it can bring tremendous relief from the emotional impact of having an obvious scar, particularly if it is on the face and people’s eyes are drawn to it and they keep asking you about it.
If we can do something to help it blend in and make it less obvious, it can allow you to be you and not to be defined by your physical features.

And this is true of all cosmetic surgery.

It is often deemed to be unnecessary or for vanity reasons, but I think people’s perception is far off the average person seeking cosmetic surgery.
It is usually done for them and not for anyone else and they just want to feel more confident and happier about their appearance.

It was interesting talking to Danny Kelly this morning on BBC WM because it really made me think about the impact that we have on people’s lives and sometimes we can lose sight of this and get caught up in ‘the what we are doing’ rather than ‘the why we are doing it’.

I truly believe that cosmetic surgery can significantly improve people’s quality of life and I am often upset by the adverse media attention, which happens to be part of the positive image of plastic surgery this morning, as this is always what we are trying to achieve because everyone deserves body confidence.

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Our ‘See & Treat’ On The Day Service

 

One of the founding principles of my clinic is to deliver a patient experience over and above expectation. 

I spend a lot of time thinking about how the clinic is perceived by potential patients, to work out ways that we can deliver a better service, give more relevant information, and increase patient satisfaction.

I often speak about having outcome measures, which is quite common in medicine, but cosmetic surgery is one of those areas that fortunately has very few complications and morbidity associated with it.

It is therefore difficult to get objective outcome measures, such as return to theatre rates, infection rates, or implant failures rates, as these are universally very low, so it is hard to distinguish between practitioners on these bases. 

The main outcome measure that I feel we are judged on is patient satisfaction and I think this is an idea that has got room for significant improvement amongst providers of cosmetic surgery and in fact across the medical field.   

 

One of the many unique features of the Staiano Clinic is that we offer a ‘See & Treat’ service. 

This means that patients can come to the clinic with a problem that we can treat in our local anaesthetic operating theatre, such as a mole, a cyst, a split earlobe, unwanted tattooinverted nipple, or areola reduction and have the procedure done on the same day as the consultation if they wish.

Clearly not everybody would want this and many patients are happy to come for a FREE consultation in the first instance so they know what to expect and then book in for the procedure at a later date.

Of course, this is perfectly reasonable and the way that most medical practices operate.

However, because I own the whole clinic and so control the minor operating room, I can decide what the best use of time in the operating room is. 

Classically in any hospital, operating theatre time is the most expensive commodity and so hospitals will aim to maximise efficiency and utilisation of the operating theatre which is best done by having pre-booked operating lists.   

 

A see & treat clinic, when the patients may or may not have a procedure, is not an efficient use of the operating theatre as it could result in the operating theatre being booked out for an hour, and the patient may decide not to go ahead with the procedure for any reason.

However, I see the benefit to patients, particularly if they have a troublesome mole or some other lesion that they know they want to have removed and they do not particularly want to come to see the doctor for consultation and take more time off work to come back to have the procedure, and so while the see and treat clinic is not an efficient use of the operating space, it does result in high patient satisfaction and is therefore achieving the ultimate goal of my clinic to give the best possible result to every patient and to do everything we can to ensure that we can deliver a world class service. 

 

 

 

If you book a see and treat appointment with us we ask for £100 deposit to secure the slot and this is fully refundable if you are not suitable.

You can still come and have a consultation with a plastic surgeon and if you remain unsure, simply book in to have the procedure another day or just go and have a think about things.

It is one of the benefits of owning my own clinic that I can make decisions like this. 

If the clinic was run by a commercial organisation, this would not be allowed because it is always about the bottom line with profits and efficiencies, and whilst I accept that these are important and realise that I am running a business, I also believe that when we stand out and go the extra mile for our patients it is a move towards my goal of delivering a national brand that stands for quality and service in plastic surgery.   

 

That is my goal and I truly believe we are delivering a world class service and will continue to innovate and grow, so that we can find new ways to give you a better service and make your life a little bit easier. 

Coming to a plastic surgery clinic or any doctor’s surgery can be daunting and I have set up the clinic so that it is a calm and peaceful environment that is non-threatening and more akin to a five star hotel than a doctor’s surgery.

I have built the clinic around ethics and values and everyone that works here knows what we are trying to achieve and are aligned with our goals.

I have always wanted to create something that I am proud of and it has driven me throughout my medical career and all the decisions I make.

 

I am very proud of the service we offer and I can safely say that every decision is made for patient satisfaction, comfort, peace of mind, and expectations at its heart. 

The freedom to build the clinic how I want, employ the staff that I choose, and utilise the facilities as I feel best has been liberating and we have been running the see and treat clinic for the last five years now and I believe it is a great comfort and convenience to many patients and so we will continue to do so.   

 

We are always asking for feedback and so if there is anything that you feel that we could do better or differently, please let us know.

 

We are constantly looking for ways to surprise and delight patients and we are always looking to get a wow factor. 

This is right from having the most highly trained surgeons in the country so that the surgical results will be second to none, but also from the moment you walk through the door, meet the staff, and engage and interact with us both in person and in the virtual world with our closed Facebook group for patients and our other social media channels.  

 

If you think you like to come for a see and treat appointment please let us know before booking so we can ensure that we have got enough time, but rest assured that there will be absolutely no obligation to proceed, so if your surgeon feels that you may not be suitable for surgery on the day, or if for any reason you are not sure whether you want to proceed, there is absolutely no obligation and no charge as any deposit paid is fully refundable with no questions asked.

If you have any questions, you can always join me on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube where I do a live Q and A every Tuesday at 7 p.m. and I will be available live to interact and discuss any issues.
Feel free to leave a comment below, or drop us an e-mail.

If you want to come for a consultation with one of our plastic surgeons, please call or email us or fill in the on-line contact form.

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Laser excision of a mole versus surgical excision

It is not uncommon for people to enquire about laser excision of a mole here at the Staiano Clinic as I think that sometimes people feel that it is somehow better than surgical excision.
Anything with the term laser in it is deemed to be futuristic and therefore better than the old-fashioned ways, and indeed lasers have been a great advance in the field of plastic surgery and are very useful in many situations.

We do not offer laser excision of moles here at the Staiano Clinic, however we would be happy to talk to you about it.

If you wanted laser excision, it would always be best to talk to a practitioner who does offer laser excision of moles, because they would be best placed to tell you the pros and cons and the reasons why they offer it.
The main point to consider, is that if you want to have your mole removed, then it will need to be destroyed in some way.  The sort of lasers that are used for mole removal are quite destructive and cut the skin in a similar way to a scalpel.

One of the reasons people feel that laser is preferable to surgery is because they do not want the scar.
However, if the mole is going to be destroyed then it will leave a scar or a mark whatever modality is used.
The pattern of scarring might be different and that is true for the different types of mole excision.

One of the main benefits of laser is that multiple moles can be targeted at the same time, but one of the big downsides is that laser destroys the tissues and so the mole cannot be sent for histology, and it is good practice certainly for pigmented lesions, that they are sent away for histological analysis to be sure that there is nothing to worry about.

There are no moles that are removed by laser excision that cannot be removed by surgical excision and we are all plastic surgeons here at the Staiano Clinic and we specialise in the surgical excision of moles.

There are clinics that do offer laser excision of moles, but you have to be absolutely sure that they are benign before going down that route.

Ideally you would find a plastic surgeon who does laser excision of moles and surgical excision to get a balanced view.

The fact is that laser is often performed by non-plastic surgeons who may not have the ability to offer surgical excision, so it is sometimes hard to get a balanced view and opinion, and so my advice would be to look at the results of different practitioners and choose someone you can trust, who seems to give results and have happy patients because you will find, like with most things, there are many ways to crack a nut.

We are very comfortable with performing surgical excisions of moles here at the Staiano Clinic and we offer free consultations with one of our plastic surgeons if you would like to come along and have an assessment and a chat.
You can also download our guide with details of when you should worry about your mole here.
We are one of the few clinics to offer a see and treat service where you can come to the clinic and have your mole assessed and removed on the same day, and while we do ask for a deposit, there is no obligation to proceed and the deposit is fully refundable if you do not proceed with the surgery on the day.

If you have any questions and want to get in touch, then contact us on the website or on Facebook where I do a live Q and A on Facebook every Tuesday at 7 p.m.  Please visit our Facebook page if you would like to put a question directly to Jonathan.
Feel free to leave a comment below, or drop us an e-mail.
If you want to come for a free no obligation consultation with one of our plastic surgeons, please call or email us or fill in the on-line contact form.