Cosmetic Mole & Skin Lesion Removal Melbourne

You don’t, and you’re not expected to. That is what the consultation is for. As a general guide, raised, well-defined lesions that have been stable for a long time are usually good candidates. Flat pigmented lesions, anything that has changed recently, and anything with concerning dermatoscopic features are not. Dr Ed Omarjee will tell you plainly which category yours falls into.

No referral is needed for cosmetic lesion removal, so you can book directly. If assessment reveals something needing further investigation, we will organise the appropriate pathway, which may involve your GP or a specialist referral.

This is possible, provided the lesion is confirmed benign on dermatoscopy, you are happy to proceed after the consultation and discussion (the nature of the proposed treatment, the risks, the aftercare, the quote, and all of your questions answered) and time permits.

That said, Dr Ed Omarjee prefers you to consider the content of the consult and book the proposed treatment on a future day, allowing you time to weigh up the potential results, risks, costs and aftercare. There is never any pressure to treat on the day.

Come with the area clean and free of makeup if it is on the face. Tell us about any blood-thinning medication, a pacemaker or implanted defibrillator, isotretinoin (Roaccutane) use in the past 6–12 months, any history of keloid scarring, and any allergy to local anaesthetic. Photographs of the lesion over time, if you have them, are genuinely useful.

You are very welcome at both clinics, and we will do what we can to make one trip sufficient. The one thing that cannot be skipped is the in-person medical consultation, examination and dermatoscopy. No lesion is treated on photographs alone, because dermatoscopy requires the instrument physically on your skin.

What helps enormously is sending information about the lesions concerning you, along with clear, well-lit photographs, to info@thedoc.com.au before you travel. Dr Ed can review these ahead of your appointment, which opens up the possibility of treating on the same day as your initial consult, provided you are happy after examination with the proposed option, the expected aesthetic result, the risks and consent process, and the quote.

Clear, well-lit and in focus, preferably not selfie-type shots. A close-up of each lesion plus a wider shot showing where it sits on the body is ideal. Natural daylight works better than a flash. Include a note on how long each lesion has been there and whether it has changed in size, shape, colour or symptoms. Send them to info@thedoc.com.au and mention that you are travelling to us.

That is our usual practice, and for good reason. The first appointment is your medical consultation and examination, where options, the nature of the treatment, risks, consent, aftercare and costings are all discussed. You then take the time to think it over and contact us when you are ready to proceed.

Same-day treatment is often possible if you would prefer it and the lesion is confirmed benign, but the two-visit approach exists so nobody feels rushed into a cosmetic decision.

Yes. A partial deposit, calculated as a percentage of your quoted treatment cost, is usually required to secure your future treatment date and time.

A review is organised at an appropriate interval, weeks to months after your procedure, if anything is concerning you. Contact the clinic sooner if you develop increasing pain, spreading redness, heat or discharge, as these are not part of normal healing.

The treated area is covered with a small specialised hydrocolloid dressing. It stays in place for a few weeks, maintaining a moist healing environment that supports re-epithelialisation and protects the site. You will also be provided with topical ointments and gels to assist the healing process, and specific instructions for your lesions before you leave.

Yes, with your consent. Baseline clinical photographs form part of your medical record and let us compare the treated area objectively at review. Both clinics use a dedicated Clinical Imaging Australia system, a pre-calibrated camera with fixed studio lighting, so images taken months apart are captured under identical conditions and can be meaningfully compared. Ambient light and time of day have no effect on the result.

Not unless you give separate, specific written consent for that purpose. Consenting to clinical photography for your medical record is not consent to publication. They are two distinct decisions, and you are entirely free to agree to one and decline the other. Declining has no effect on your treatment.

Images are stored securely behind two-factor authentication on Australian-based data centres, consistent with Privacy Act requirements for medical data. Our approach to any published imagery follows AHPRA’s advertising guidelines and TGA requirements.

Dr Ed Omarjee performs every assessment and every removal personally, at both the Hoppers Crossing and Ashburton clinics. This is not delegated to a nurse or a technician.

Dr Ed has been a cosmetic-focused doctor for over 20 years and has removed well in excess of 20,000 lesions for cosmetic purposes.

It is examination of the skin using a magnifying lens with a controlled, usually polarised light source. Polarisation cancels out the glare that normally bounces off the skin surface, letting the doctor see structures within the epidermis and upper dermis, such as pigment networks, globules and blood vessel patterns, that are completely invisible to the naked eye. Those structures are what distinguish a benign mole from something that needs excision.

Because radiofrequency vaporises tissue rather than excising it, there is no specimen left to send to a pathologist. If a lesion turned out to be a skin cancer, it would have been destroyed without ever being diagnosed, without margins being assessed, and without you knowing it happened. Anything suspicious is therefore excised surgically with margins and sent for histopathology instead.

Your consultation includes examination of the lesions you have raised plus a broader look at the surrounding skin. If you want a comprehensive full-body skin cancer check, mention it when booking so adequate time is allocated, as it is a different appointment length.

You will be told clearly and immediately, and given a plan. That might be a diagnostic biopsy, a surgical excision with margins, photographic monitoring over a set interval, or referral to a dermatologist or surgeon. Cosmetic treatment of that lesion does not proceed.

Tell us before anything is planned. Radiofrequency-based treatments are usually contraindicated where you have a cardiac pacemaker, an implantable defibrillator, or any other implanted electrical device, including nerve stimulators, spinal cord stimulators, deep brain stimulators and cochlear implants. Radiofrequency passes current through tissue, which can interfere with these devices.

This is not the end of the conversation. In these situations Dr Ed Omarjee will usually consider alternative treatment options, most often laser-based, which work by a completely different mechanism and do not pass electrical current through your body. Come in and be assessed, and we will find the right approach for you.

Not if they are removed by radiofrequency, as the tissue does not survive the process. If you specifically want histopathological confirmation, that requires a shave biopsy or surgical excision instead, which is a different procedure with a different healing profile.

Worth knowing: a shave biopsy has a small Medicare rebate associated with it, whereas RF removal is deemed cosmetic and has none. That said, the choice between them is made on clinical grounds, what the lesion is and whether it needs diagnosing, not on billing. We will talk through the trade-off if it matters to you.

The local anaesthetic injection stings briefly, a few seconds. After that the area is fully numb and the removal itself is painless. Most people describe feeling pressure or vibration but no pain. Afterwards, discomfort is usually mild and settles with simple paracetamol if anything is needed at all.

A single lesion typically takes 10–20 minutes on average, including numbing time. Multiple lesions, a crop of skin tags, or DPN across both cheeks, take longer and are sometimes staged across sessions.

Almost never. Radiofrequency removal leaves a shallow, open area that heals by forming a crust and re-epithelialising from the edges, so sutures are not required. On rare occasions, more likely in looser or more flaccid skin, a suture may be needed.

Compare this with traditional surgical excision, which does need stitches and leaves a linear scar. That is one of the main advantages of radiofrequency over surgical excision.

Very little. The waveform seals small vessels as it works, which is why the field stays clear and why vascular lesions like cherry angiomas suit this technique so well. Let us know if you take blood-thinning medication such as warfarin, apixaban, clopidogrel or regular aspirin.

Yes. Only local anaesthetic is used, so you are not sedated. Most people drive themselves and return to normal activities immediately, allowing for a visible dressing if the lesion is on the face.

It depends on size, site and anaesthetic requirements. Small lesions like skin tags can often be done in numbers in a single sitting. Larger removals, or work in delicate areas like around the eyes, are usually staged. Treating several on one day is also considerably better value.

Any procedure that removes tissue leaves some mark. The realistic goal is a flat, pale mark that becomes hard to notice, not the absence of any trace. Radiofrequency generally heals flatter and less conspicuously than scalpel excision because it does not cut through full skin thickness and does not require sutures. Your skin type, the lesion’s size, depth and location, and your own scarring tendency all influence the final result, and these are assessed before treatment.

The crust lifts within roughly 1–2 weeks. The pink phase underneath typically fades over 2–3 months on the face, and longer on the body, as the chest, shoulders and back are the slowest. Full maturation of any mark takes up to 12 months.

Yes, of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation specifically, a temporary darkening at the treated site that can take several months to resolve. It is a real consideration, not a reason to avoid treatment. We manage it with conservative settings, sometimes a small test area first, staged sessions for conditions like DPN, and strict sun protection afterwards. This will be discussed properly at your consultation.

Say so at consultation, as it genuinely changes the plan. Keloid tendency does not automatically exclude you, but site selection becomes more conservative, and some areas (earlobes, chest, shoulders, upper back) carry higher risk regardless. Keloid management, particularly ear keloids, is a specific clinical interest of Dr Ed Omarjee’s, so this is assessed with more care here than it might be elsewhere.

Most benign lesions removed properly do not return. Some are more prone to recurrence than others: syringomas commonly recur because they extend deeper than they look, sebaceous hyperplasia can return because the underlying gland persists, xanthelasma recurs if the lipid problem is not addressed, and viral warts can recur because virus may remain in nearby skin. Where recurrence is likely, we tell you upfront rather than after.

Because they arise from sweat ducts that run deeper than the visible bump, and they sit in the thin, delicate skin around the eye. Treating deeply enough to guarantee no recurrence would risk a worse cosmetic outcome than the syringomas themselves. The correct approach is deliberately light treatment repeated over sessions, accepting some recurrence rather than causing scarring near the eyelid.

Not over an open or crusted area. Once the surface has fully sealed, commonly several days to a week depending on the lesion, makeup is usually fine. We will give you a specific timeframe for your case.

Light activity the same day. Avoid heavy sweating for about 48 hours after facial treatment. Swimming pools, spas, saunas and the ocean should wait until the area has fully healed over, because of infection risk.

It depends on why you want it removed. If a benign lesion is genuinely irritating you, catching, rubbing, inflamed or bleeding, then yes, Dr Ed Omarjee will treat it during pregnancy once dermatoscopy confirms it is benign. We limit how many lesions are treated per session to keep the total local anaesthetic dose as low as possible, staging additional lesions across separate visits.

If it is purely about appearance, we would suggest waiting until after pregnancy and breastfeeding. Pregnancy alters your skin’s pigmentation and healing, makes dermatoscopic assessment less definitive, and raises the chance of a lingering pigmented mark. There is no urgency, so there is no need to accept those variables.

Some generalised darkening of existing moles is a well-recognised, normal effect of pregnancy hormones. However, “it is just pregnancy” is a conclusion for a doctor with a dermatoscope, not an assumption. Melanoma does occur in pregnancy. Please have any changing mole examined promptly, as the examination itself is entirely non-invasive and completely safe at any stage.

If they are bothering you physically, catching on clothing, under a bra strap, in the underarms, or repeatedly getting irritated, then yes, they can be treated. We will work through them a few at a time rather than all at once, so the total anaesthetic dose stays low.

If they are not troubling you, there is a good argument for waiting. Pregnancy-related skin tags are very common and a meaningful proportion shrink or disappear in the months after birth, so you may not need to pay to remove them at all.

To keep the total amount of local anaesthetic as low as reasonably possible. Each lesion needs its own small injection, so treating ten lesions means considerably more anaesthetic than treating three. Lignocaine is used routinely in pregnancy where a procedure is warranted, but the sensible principle is to use the minimum required. Staging your lesions across a few visits achieves exactly that.

Local anaesthetic used for a small skin procedure is not a reason to interrupt or stop breastfeeding, and you can feed normally before and after your appointment. Irritating benign lesions can be treated while breastfeeding, and purely cosmetic removal is easily deferred if you would rather wait.

There is no fixed rule. As a practical guide, once you have finished breastfeeding and your skin pigmentation has settled back to its usual baseline, assessment and treatment can proceed normally. Come in and we will advise on timing for your situation.

The Ellman Surgitron radiofrequency unit, operating at approximately 4.0 MHz. It is a radiosurgery device: it passes high-frequency radiowaves through tissue rather than cutting with a blade or burning with a heated element.

No. A laser delivers focused light energy that is absorbed by a specific target in the skin, water, pigment, or haemoglobin, depending on its wavelength. Radiofrequency passes an electrical waveform through tissue, and the heat is generated by the tissue’s own resistance to that wave. Both can remove lesions; they are fundamentally different physics, and each suits different jobs.

Electrocautery uses a physically hot wire that conducts heat into the tissue by contact. No current enters you, but the thermal damage is broad. Conventional diathermy and hyfrecators do pass current through tissue, but at lower frequencies, which spreads more heat sideways from the treatment point. Radiofrequency at around 4.0 MHz narrows that zone of collateral thermal damage considerably, and the electrode itself stays cool. Less damaged surrounding tissue means less repair, and less repair generally means a better-looking result.

Because of the zone of lateral thermal damage, the band of tissue either side of the treatment point that gets heated but is not removed. That tissue is injured and must be repaired by your body, and repair means inflammation and new collagen, which is where thickened or discoloured marks come from. Higher operating frequency concentrates the effect and narrows that band. Around 4.0 MHz sits in the practical sweet spot for skin work: fine enough to be precise, while still controlling bleeding.

No. The area is fully anaesthetised before treatment, and a return antenna plate is positioned nearby to complete the circuit safely. You may hear a faint sound and notice an odour during treatment, and both are normal. Smoke is actively evacuated.

There are two components. The consultation is $195 to $295 depending on length and complexity, charged separately, and a Medicare rebate is usually applicable to it.

The removal starts from $595 for a first facial lesion, from $695 for a first lesion in a special area (nose, ears, eye region, lower cheek, genital or private areas), and from $495 for a first off-face lesion. Every additional lesion removed on the same day is from $195. RF removal is deemed cosmetic, so no Medicare rebate applies to this portion. These are indicative starting points, and your final fee is confirmed after your face-to-face consultation with Dr Ed Omarjee.

The nose, ears, eye area, lower cheek and the genital or private areas are all anatomically less forgiving. The skin is thinner or the contours are more complex, structures nearby matter enormously, and the margin for error is smaller. Genital and private-area lesions additionally require particular care, privacy and a chaperone where appropriate. These sites take longer, need more conservative technique and more careful review. The fee reflects the time and precision involved rather than a different device or product.

Because a large part of the first fee covers things that only happen once: the consultation, dermatoscopic assessment, photography, setting up a sterile field and preparing the equipment. Once you are set up and anaesthetised, additional lesions mainly cost time. That saving is passed on, which is why treating everything in one visit makes sense.

The consultation: a Medicare rebate is usually applicable, as this is a medical consultation with a registered doctor.

Radiofrequency removal: no. RF mole and skin lesion removal is deemed a cosmetic procedure, so there is no Medicare rebate and no private health insurance cover for it.

Shave biopsy: where a lesion needs to be sampled for diagnosis rather than removed for appearance, a shave biopsy has a small Medicare rebate associated with it. This is a different procedure, the tissue is sent for histopathology, and it is only done where clinically indicated, not as a way of making a cosmetic removal rebatable.

Yes. The consultation is always charged separately from any procedure. The consultation fee is $195 to $295, depending on the length of the appointment and the complexity of what is discussed. A short, single-lesion review sits at the lower end; a longer appointment covering multiple lesions, a broader skin assessment or more complex medical issues sits higher.

A Medicare rebate is usually applicable to the consultation, which reduces your out-of-pocket cost for that portion. The radiofrequency removal itself is a cosmetic procedure and attracts no Medicare rebate or private health cover.

Whichever is more convenient. Both Hoppers Crossing and Ashburton offer the same treatment, the same equipment and the same doctor. Availability can differ between the two, so ask when booking if you would like the earliest appointment.

Book online, or call the clinic that suits you. Let us know roughly how many lesions you are concerned about and where they are, so the right amount of time can be set aside.