CO2 Laser Mole and Lesion Removal

DermaEsthetic uses the CO2 laser to remove moles, warts, age spots, skin tags, seborrhoeic warts, xanthelasmas (cholesterol deposits on eyelids), hemangiomas and other benign skin irregularities in a single session under local anaesthesia. The laser vaporises the target tissue precisely without spreading heat to surrounding skin — leaving no stitches, minimal scarring and a clean healing bed. The procedure takes several minutes per lesion; a light scab forms and sheds naturally within ten days. MUDr. Šulcová assesses every lesion before removal and refers any dermoscopically suspicious moles for histopathological analysis rather than laser ablation.

CO2 laser lesion removal works through tissue vaporisation: the 10,600 nm wavelength is absorbed by intracellular water in the target tissue, converting to heat rapidly enough to vaporise cells in the lesion layer by layer. The surrounding tissue is not mechanically damaged; thermal spread is limited by the precision of the fractional or focused beam, leaving a clean wound bed. Unlike surgical excision there are no sutures, no scalpel pressure and no requirement to undermine surrounding tissue — the laser cauterises small blood vessels as it vaporises tissue, so bleeding is minimal. At DermaEsthetic MUDr. Hana Šulcová first assesses every lesion to be removed with dermoscopy — a magnified illuminated lens examination of subsurface structures. Any lesion with dermoscopic features suggesting dysplasia or malignancy is NOT treated with the laser but is instead referred for surgical excision with a safety margin and sent for histopathological analysis. Only clearly benign lesions with known morphological patterns — common nevi, viral warts (verrucae), seborrhoeic keratoses, dermatofibromas, skin tags (acrochordons), xanthelasmas and vascular lesions such as spider nevi and cherry angiomas — are treated with CO2 ablation. Once the lesion is confirmed benign, local anaesthetic is injected into the dermis beneath it to achieve complete numbing. The CO2 laser is then used to ablate the lesion in a controlled, layer-by-layer approach; depth control is achieved by visual inspection between passes. A gauze compress and antibiotic cream are applied immediately after. A light scab forms within 24 hours and sheds spontaneously within seven to fourteen days, leaving pink new skin beneath that fades to normal tone over the following four to eight weeks. The session is typically 15–30 minutes for a small number of lesions. Multiple lesions — a common scenario with seborrhoeic keratoses or multiple skin tags — are bundled into a single appointment and treated sequentially. Post-treatment care involves keeping the area dry for 48 hours, applying antibiotic cream twice daily until the scab sheds, and strict sun avoidance until the area is fully healed. Contraindications include active skin infection at the lesion site, keloid tendency (scarring history), active isotretinoin use, and pregnancy.