Pain after removal
Since the laser only penetrates into superficial skin layers during birthmark removal, no deep wounds are caused. This enables a quick healing of the lasered skin area. To minimize the risk of infection with viruses or bacteria and also to prevent crust formation, it is possible to apply special waterproof, breathable plasters.
With these plasters, it is also possible to shower without any problems in the days directly after the laser treatment. After a few days, as soon as the wound has healed and is dry, the plaster can be left off. Many patients wish to have their birthmark lasered in order to achieve healing.
However, it is very important to define the term healing exactly. If a patient wants to have a birthmark lasered, the dermatologist must first examine it carefully. If it is a birthmark that is not clear whether it is a malignant growth or just an ordinary skin change, the dermatologist must cut out the birthmark and then have it examined by pathologists (doctors of the teaching of the disease) so that they can determine by microscopy whether it is a good (benign) or bad (malignant) birthmark.
Laser birthmarks are not a medical cure for a possible malignant skin disease (skin cancer). Therefore, the costs of having a birthmark lasered are usually not covered by health insurance companies. If the patient hopes to be cured in a cosmetic sense by the birthmark laser, the laser method is definitely suitable.
Especially birthmarks on the face can be perceived as disturbing for the patient. If the patient has the birthmark on his face lasered, he does not have to accept a healing process in the sense of scarring, as would be the case, for example, if the birthmark were cut out. Nevertheless, it is important to know that laser treatment of the birthmark also takes its toll on the skin.
The healing process after the moles are lasered takes about 3-8 weeks, depending on the patient and the location of the moles. In order to speed up the healing process, the patient should avoid the sun as much as possible and also lubricate the moles regularly to avoid irritation of the skin. This supports the healing process after the birthmark has been lasered.
Many patients want to have one or more moles lasered for aesthetic reasons, but fear that this will come back, i.e. that a so-called relapse will occur after the mole has been lasered. However, this is only rarely the case, but it is still possible that the moles come back after some time, even though the mole was lasered. It should be noted that the recurrence rate is usually higher if the patient subsequently exposes the lasered mole too much to sunlight.
Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the lasered birthmarks and to cream them with a particularly high sun protection factor as soon as they are exposed to the sun. However, even the application of cream cannot always prevent lasered moles from reappearing. Therefore, every patient who wants to have their birthmarks lasered for cosmetic reasons should be aware that even a lasered birthmark can come back, sometimes even only after a few years. The safest method to remove a birthmark is therefore cutting it out, since there is no recurrence compared to birthmark lasering.
