My Mole Doesn’t Look Normal: Do I Need to Have a Biopsy First?

Any new mole you notice should match the other ones on your body. If you see one that’s bigger or darker than your other moles or has an odd shape, those irregularities could indicate that it’s cancerous.

In short, if the mole doesn’t look normal to you, it’s well worth seeing a doctor about it. Skin cancer is extremely treatable, provided you catch it early.

At Medical Associates of North Texas in Fort Worth, Texas, our team can evaluate the mole. You may or may not need a biopsy depending on what the mole looks like, how it compares to your other moles, and your family history of skin cancer. We can help you decide what’s right for you. 

When you can wait for the biopsy

Not every atypical mole needs to get biopsied. Our team can help you decide your specific mole.

If you just noticed the mole but it doesn’t seem to be changing much, it might be fine to leave it for observation for a time. Taking a measurement now and then measuring it again in a few months tells you if there’s abnormal cell growth going on. 

We might also recommend monitoring rather than biopsying the mole if it only shows a small degree of abnormality. If it’s got one area of asymmetry but otherwise looks like your other moles, for example, we might recommend a watch-and-wait approach. 

If the mole doesn’t change, it probably doesn’t require a biopsy. But if, in monitoring the mole, we observe unusual cell growth, we’ll recommend this procedure to investigate further. 

All of this is true if you don’t have a family history of skin cancer. If you do, being proactive and biopsying the mole earlier is usually the safest route. 

What to expect with a biopsy

Here at Medical Associates of North Texas, we offer a few different types of biopsies, including:

• Punch biopsy
• Shave biopsy
• Excisional biopsy

We recommend a specific procedure for you based on the shape, size, and positioning of your mole. 

We numb you beforehand with a local anesthetic. You shouldn’t feel anything other than some pressure as we perform your biopsy. The actual biopsy usually only takes about 15 minutes, and the entire process is often 45 minutes or less at our office.

We bandage the area afterward. Some biopsies require stitches, which we provide while you’re still numb. Beyond that, the area should heal like any other cut or scrape you’ve had. Keep it clean and covered until it’s healed.

In the meantime, we send the biopsied sample off to our lab. That allows us to see if the biopsied tissue contains cancerous cells. 

If it does, we will develop a treatment plan for you. In many cases, skin cancer can be treated by cutting out all of the cancerous cells, usually through a procedure called Mohs surgery. 

If you want our team to check out one of your moles and see if it needs a biopsy, you can simply walk into our Fort Worth office, or you can schedule a visit by sending us a message online or calling our office at 972-433-7178.