Seborrheic Keratosis & Curettage
Seborrheic Keratosis is a type of outgrowth that occurs on the skin mostly in people aged above forty. These types of outgrowths are not cancerous although they can be itchy, painful and and are classed as more of a cosmetic problem than a medical one.
Seborrheic Keratosis or SKs are usually unpleasant and are usually a source of embarrassment especially when they appear in the most prominent body parts like the face and the arms. This, along with the fact that some could develop cancerous, means that they should be gotten rid off as soon as possible.
How are they removed? There are many ways to get rid of seborrheic keratosis. Some of these methods are inexpensive and can be easily implemented at home. Others are a bit complicated and require one to consult a dermatologist to have them carried out. The latter option is the best because a dermatologist is usually in the best position to advise a patient after carrying out the relevant tests on the outgrowths.
Two of the most effective methods of getting rid of keratoses are cryotherapy and curettage. Cryotherapy involves the use of liquid Nitrogen to freeze the cells within the SKs and kill them.
Curettage is much simpler because it just involves scraping of the SKs. This method can therefore be comfortably carried out at home.
To carry it out, one requires a curette, which is a spoon shaped instrument that is used to scrape off the SKs. Please note that this procedure is painful and it is therefore advisable that the skin around the SKs numbed before starting out the procedure. This is done by rubbing ice cubes on that particular area for a couple of minutes before starting out on the scraping.
The actual scraping off of the SKs is not easy because it is usually very painful and one may bleed. This means that there is a scar left on the skin after removing SKs from the skin. A fibrous scar called a keloid may develop. This keloid is usually itchy and enlarges over time. That means that they bring the need of having to remove them for cosmetic reasons.
To prevent a keloid from developing, one is encouraged to consider consulting a dermatologist for the curettage procedure. They are well equipped to handle such outgrowths and it would take a much shorter time to get rid of them. Apart from this, dermatologists usually have good anesthesia that would greatly suppress the pain.
The biggest advantage in consulting a dermatologist for curettage is the fact that it is combined with electrocautery to ensure that the SKs and keloids do not appear again. Hence, a patient is advised to seriously consider consulting a dermatologist before removing the SKs via curettage.
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