Dr Ruth Harker provides her advice to doctors and nurses involved in minor surgery in aesthetic practice, explaining ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’
I don’t know if you’ve tried to get anything removed on the NHS recently? Well, unless it’s suspicious for malignancy – the Bad – it is unlikely to be done. The strain on the NHS means that non-life-threatening procedures go to the bottom of the waiting list or, in many cases relating to cosmetic appearance, patients are refused treatment altogether. I believe this has caused an increase in demand for private treatment for concerns such as compound or intradermal naevi (ordinary moles) as patients simply dislike having them – the Good! – and skin tags, warts, seborrhoeic keratoses, epidermoid cysts and lentigines that are unsightly – the Ugly! Seborrhoeic keratoses are common, and some people’s torso is covered in them, so they are very grateful for treatment. Pilar or epidermoid cysts are often in conspicuous positions on the scalp, forehead, and neck or back and, again, it is a real…
