Minor cosmetic skin surgery and cryotherapy

We run a weekly clinic on Fridays dealing with problem skin areas or the subcutaneous tissue (underneath skin area), including lipomas, cysts, moles, warts, tags and other lesions.

Skin Specialist

Dr Jon Echebarrieta is our skin specialist and surgeon. If you have a lump or bump (lesion) that you would like removed for cosmetic reasons or it has become a nuisance to you, then there are two ways of removal.

You will first be booked in for a 15-minute skin consultation with Dr Jon and he will confirm how he can treat the lesion. If he can use cryotherapy, then this will be carried out on the day and he will freeze as many problem areas as time permits and there is no additional cost. If Dr Jon confirms that your lesion requires minor surgery, then this will be booked in for a different date.

Skin Consultation appointment fee – £89

Questions

What is Cryotherapy?

Most problem skin areas (lesions) such as skin tags, types of moles, warts etc. can be treated with cryotherapy. This is where liquid nitrogen is applied to the area to freeze it. The area will form a scab a few days later and then the skin tag/mole will come away. There is very minimal scarring with cryotherapy compared to incision, but sometimes more than one treatment is required.

Cryotherapy is carried out during the 15 minute skin consultation appointment and costs £89.

Dr Jon will freeze as many problem areas as time permits and there is no additional cost.

What is Minor surgery?

Sometimes Dr Echebarrieta will decide that a lump or bump (lesion) requires minor surgery. There are two types of minor surgery. One is called a Formal Excision and the other is a Shave Excision with or without Electrical /Chemical Cautery (Burning) of the skin. All minor surgery takes place in a special minor ops room at our clinic in Bournemouth and Dr Jon is assisted by a nurse.

Shave Excisions and Cautery – Certain types of mole can be removed by shave excision and cautery at their base. An anaesthetic is used before removal and stitches are not required. The surgery appointment is up to 30-minutes and 2-3 lesions can be removed in that time.

Shave Excision and Cautery surgery costs – £300

If there are 4 or more lesions to remove, then a longer appointment can be arranged and there will be an additional cost.

Formal Excisions – Lipomas, cysts and some moles or skin tags need removing with formal excision and this will require stitches and will leave some form of a scar. The stitches will be left in for a minimum of seven days and an appointment is arranged for one of our nurses to remove them. The cost of the stitch removal is included in the surgery price. Formal excision surgery appointments are up to 40 minutes long.

Formal Excision surgery costs – £350

If there is more than one lesion, then Dr Jon may require a longer surgery appointment and there will be an additional cost.

Further Important Information

Please note that if during the surgery process Dr Jon feels that the area needs further investigation, then he will refer you to a hospital based surgeon. Also, if he has removed a lesion and is concerned by the nature of it, then he may recommend it is sent off to a laboratory for further analysis. We can arrange for all of this to be carried out privately (there will be additional costs), or you are free to pursue the next steps within the NHS.

Sometimes at a skin consultation Dr Jon will confirm he cannot remove a lesion himself at our clinic and he will recommend a referral to a surgeon working at a hospital. If the lump or bump is in a delicate area, such as very close to the eye, then a referral to an ophthalmologist could be required. We can refer you to a private specialist or send the referral to the NHS. The cost of the referral letter is included in the £89 skin consultation fee.

For more information and bookings please call us on 01202 761150.

Dr Jon’s skin consultations and minor surgery at our Bournemouth clinic is extremely popular. Our clinic is close to the residents of Poole and Christchurch, but Dr Jon sees patients from all over Dorset and even further afield.