Mole, cyst or lipoma today.
Home by lunch.

The brief sting of the local anaesthetic injection is the only painful part of most procedures. Once the area is numb (usually within 60–90 seconds), you'll feel pressure and movement but no sharp pain. Most patients describe it as far less uncomfortable than a routine dental filling. Cryotherapy is mildly stingy for a few seconds, no anaesthetic needed.

Honestly — yes, any excision leaves a scar. The question is how visible. Our surgeons use plastic-surgery suturing technique (fine sutures, careful tension, scar-aware orientation) which minimises scarring. Cryotherapy and skin tag removal usually leave no visible mark after healing. For larger excisions on visible areas, your surgeon will discuss expected scarring honestly before you proceed — including what good aftercare can do to improve healing.

You can — for skin tags, very small benign moles or cosmetic-only procedures where the appearance is unambiguously benign. For any other mole, lesion or unusual lump, we strongly recommend histology. Skin cancers (basal cell, squamous cell, melanoma) can look identical to benign moles to the naked eye. The histology fee is what stands between "your mole was benign" and "your mole was a melanoma we caught in time." We won't pressure you, but we'll always recommend it for anything but the most obviously benign cases.

Most simple-tier procedures (cryotherapy, skin tags) need no real recovery — you go straight back to normal life. Standard-tier excisions and toenail surgery need 7–10 days of basic wound care: keep dry for 48 hours, keep clean, dressing changes. Complex-tier procedures (lipoma, large cyst) may need 2–3 weeks before strenuous exercise. Most patients return to office work the same day or next day.

Yes — for simple-tier procedures and most standard-tier cases. You'll be triaged at reception, then seen for a surgical consultation. If the procedure can be done same-day, it will be. For complex cases, or if the surgeon needs imaging or wants to plan a multi-stage approach, we'll book you a procedure day, usually within the same week. Calling ahead is faster but not required.

Facial and visible-site excisions go into our Complex tier specifically because they need plastic-surgery technique, careful planning of incision direction along skin tension lines, and the finest possible suturing. For procedures very near the eyes, lips or nose, our surgeon may refer you to an oculoplastic or plastic surgeon — we want you to have the best possible result, not the easiest possible procedure. We'll always tell you honestly whether we're the right place for it.

Insurance usually covers diagnostic procedures (suspicious mole removal with histology, biopsy of an unexplained lesion) but not purely cosmetic ones (skin tag removal because you don't like how it looks). Bupa, AXA Health, Vitality, Aviva, Cigna and WPA all work with us. Always pre-authorise with your insurer — tell them whether it's diagnostic or cosmetic — before booking.

Anything requiring general anaesthetic, hospital admission, deep cosmetic surgery, breast surgery, vascular surgery or paediatric surgery in very young children. We also don't perform any procedure where the safe outcome requires equipment we don't have. If your case is outside our scope, we'll refer you to a specialist who can help — honestly and quickly, with no obligation to come back to us.