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Okay, so today, we're going to be talking about the concept of atypical moles or
dysplastic nevi. Now, there is some debate in the dermatology
community about how we treat these and how we diagnose these.
So, it is important for you to have a conversation with your local dermatologist
to find out what treatment is right for you for each one of these diagnoses.
Now, all of us have moles and we don't need to do anything with those moles
except for monitor them. And if we ever see that they are growing
or changing, then you need to come into your local dermatologist and ask them if
anything needs to be done for these moles. And we've all heard the term melanoma,
and melanoma is the term for skin cancer. It's a very bad skin cancer,
you do not want melanoma at all. So, in between the concept of a normal mole
and a melanoma, there is the concept of the atypical nevi or atypical moles.
And we classify those based off of mild, mild to moderate, moderate,
moderate to severe, or severely atypical moles.
Now, when you get closer to the mild or mild to moderate, there is such a low
biologic potential of those turning into a skin cancer called melanoma.
But the general consensus among dermatologists is we don't need to do
anything with those except for monitor them to see if they're coming back.
When we get to moderately atypical moles, there is a lot of debate within the
dermatology community about what needs to happen. So, what I encourage you to do is
talk to your local dermatologist about the diagnosis that you've been given,
as well as what is appropriate for you, for your individual healthcare condition,
and overall picture of how your moles look to determine if that moderately
atypical mole needs to just be monitored, or if it can be excised.
Now, once we get to a moderate to severe or severely atypical mole,
the general consensus among dermatologists is that we need to cut those out.
So, we need to excise them and cut them out. But no matter what you do,
what you decide to do after a conversation with your dermatologist,
for any of these atypical moles, you do need to look at them every month
in the mirror to see if they are coming back. So, if you see darkness, or pigment,
or the scar is bumping up and looking abnormal from what it did look like, then
you need to go back and talk to your dermatologist. So, no matter if you're
monitoring the mild or mild to moderate, or you're cutting out the moderate
to severe or severely atypical moles, you need to look at those every month
in the mirror and see if they're coming back. And then whether you've had one or
whether you've had 20, we do recommend that you have a full body
skin exam every year for the rest of your life by a dermatologist.
And that's kind of a minimum recommendation.
Now, the more of these atypical moles that you have, the increased risk you carry
of developing a melanoma either in that atypical mole or somewhere else
on your body. So, you really need to look at your body every month in the mirror and
see if anything is growing or changing. Your dermatologist wants your help.
Nobody knows your body better than you do. And the more you help us help you,
the better everything will turn out for you. So, I encourage you to have a
conversation with your local dermatologist about what is appropriate for not only
future monitoring, but also how to take care of each one of your atypical moles.
As always, we thank you for allowing us to help you become comfortable in your skin.
Thank you for watching this video and for becoming interested in your health.
You can find more information in the description below that relates to not only
this topic, but also websites like yourhealthu.com, or Your Health
University, or Doctors Quarterly, that's going to have a library of information
that we are going to be developing over the years so that you can find information
on the topics that you are interested in. Because remember, an educated patient
is the best patient and you have the power to control your destiny.
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