It’s quite common for patients to come to the clinic when they have rash that looks concerning to them, may be bothering them, or doesn’t seem to go away no matter how much cream, lotions, or moisturizer is applied.
Typically, skin concerns that are hard to tell apart from each other may need something called a biopsy. Biopsies come in all shapes and sizes and different tools may be used depending on how concerned your doctor is and the size of rash or lesion.
The 2 main types of biopsies your doctor may do are:
- Punch Biopsy
- Excisional Biopsy
Both biopsies are done using local anesthetic and result in minimal bleeding.
Punch Biopsy: After a small amount of local anesthetic is injected to the skin, a tool ranging from 1 millimeter to 10 millimeters is used to take a sample of the skin that is then sent for pathological review for the most accurate diagnosis.
Excisional Biopsy: Typically, this is done when we are trying to rule out certain types of skin cancers. With this type of biopsy, instead of using a punch tool after a small amount of anesthetic is injected into the skin, a scalpel is used to make an ellipse around the concerning lesion and a greater depth is removed compared to a punch biopsy. Stitches are typically required to close the area up after removal.
Do you have a suspicious mole? A rash that won’t go away? Concerns about any skin related conditions? Schedule your appointment with the NWIM team today to get it evaluated.