Skin tag removal

Confirming the diagnosis

Skin tags are soft, benign outgrowths, most often in areas of friction — neck, armpits, groin, under the breasts and on the eyelids. They are harmless.

Several other lesions can resemble them, including seborrhoeic keratoses, neurofibromas, warts and, occasionally, basal cell carcinomas. Anything atypical in appearance, or with recent change in size, colour or bleeding, is examined properly before removal and sent for histology.

Numerous skin tags appearing in a short period can be associated with insulin resistance. Where that pattern is present, metabolic assessment may be worth offering — which is the kind of thing a purely cosmetic service would not think to mention.

The procedure

Depending on size and site, removal is by snip excision with fine scissors, cautery or ligation, under local anaesthetic. Several can be treated in a single visit. Healing is usually quick, with a small crust that separates over one to two weeks.

Aftercare

Keep the sites clean and dry. Avoid picking crusts. Sun protection on healing skin reduces the chance of a lasting mark.

Risks and limitations

No treatment is without risk, and you are entitled to the full picture before you decide rather than a summary afterwards. These are discussed with you individually at consultation, in the context of your own history.

• Small marks or scars at the treated sites
• Temporary pigmentation change, more likely in deeper skin tones
• Minor bleeding and, uncommonly, infection
• New skin tags forming elsewhere over time
• Incomplete removal requiring repeat treatment

Where you would be seen

Consultations and minor skin surgery take place at CLNQ Manchester on the ground floor of the South Tower at Deansgate Square, and at CLNQ Knutsford on King Street in Cheshire. Patients travel from across Greater Manchester and Cheshire — Altrincham, Hale, Bowdon, Wilmslow, Alderley Edge and Didsbury are all within easy reach of one or other site.

Where a lesion needs a theatre rather than a treatment room, the procedure is arranged at Deansgate Hospital, a CQC-registered private hospital a few minutes away in Manchester city centre. Any specimen requiring histology goes to a UK histopathology laboratory and the result is discussed with you directly.

• CLNQ Manchester — Deansgate Square 11 Owen Street, Manchester M15 4YB Ground floor of the South Tower at Deansgate Square, Manchester city centre.
• CLNQ Knutsford — Cheshire 49-51 King Street, Knutsford WA16 6DX King Street, Knutsford, serving Cheshire and the surrounding area.
• Deansgate Hospital Madison House, 37 Little Peter Street, Manchester M15 4QJ CQC-registered private hospital in Manchester city centre, for procedures needing a theatre.

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