Skin Tag (cont.)
Is a skin tag a tumor?
Skin tags are a type of growth or tumor, albeit a completely benign and harmless one. Tags are not cancerous (malignant) and not found to have potential to become cancerous if left untreated.
What does a skin tag look like under a microscope?
The outer layer of the skin (the epidermis) shows overgrowth
(hyperplasia), and it encloses an underlying layer of skin (the
dermis) in which the normally-present collagen fibers appear
abnormally loose and swollen. Usually there are no hairs, moles, or other skin structures present in skin tags.
What problems do skin tags cause?
These tiny skin growths generally cause no symptoms unless they are repeatedly irritated as, for example, by the collar or in the groin. Cosmetic removal for unsightly appearance is perhaps the most common reason they are removed. Occasionally, a tag may require removal because it has become irritated and red from bleeding (hemorrhage) or black from twisting and dying of the skin tissue (necrosis). Sometimes they may become snagged by clothing, jewelry, pets, or seatbelts, causing pain or discomfort. Overall these are very benign growths that have no cancer (malignant) potential.
Occasionally a tag may spontaneously fall off without any pain or discomfort. This may occur after the tag has twisted on itself at the stalk base, interrupting the blood flow to the tag.
How are skin tags treated?
There are several effective medical ways to remove a skin tag, including removing with scissors, freezing (using liquid nitrogen), and burning (using medical electric cautery at the physician's office).
Usually small tags may be removed easily without anesthesia while larger growths may require some local anesthesia (injected lidocaine) prior to removal. Application of a topical anesthesia cream prior to the procedure may be desirable in areas where there are a large number of tags.
Dermatologists (skin doctors), family physicians, and internal medicine physicians are the doctors who treat tags most often. Occasionally, an eye specialist (ophthalmologist) is needed to remove tags very close to the eyelid margin.
There are also home remedies and self-treatments, including tying off the small tag stalk with a piece of thread or dental floss and allowing the tag to fall off over several days.
The advantage of scissor removal is that the growth is immediately removed and there are instant results. The potential disadvantage of any kind of scissor or minor surgical procedure to remove tags is minor bleeding.
Possible risks with freezing or burning include temporary skin discoloration, need for repeat treatment(s), and failure for the tag to fall off.
There is no evidence that removing tags causes more tags to grow. Rather, there are some people that may be more prone to developing skin tags and may have new growths periodically. Some patients even require periodic removal of tags at annual or quarterly intervals.
Next: Do skin tags need to be sent for pathology? »
- Skin Biopsy - Read about the skin biopsy procedure and what to expect if your doctor orders this procedure for a lesion.
- Hemorrhoids - In-depth article on hemorrhoids: symptoms, causes, and treatments including exactly what haemorrhoids (also known as piles) are. Read details about internal and external hemmorrhoids, and the different types of over-the-counter treatments.
- Anal Itching - Learn about the causes of anal itching like pinworms, diarrhea, psoriasis, anal fissure, hemorrhoids, skin tags, yeast infection, diabetes, and HIV.
Latest Medical News
Skin RSS