Here’s why a punch biopsy for a mole removal does NOT hurt.

You don’t need a doctor to tell you that having a mole removed via punch biopsy does not hurt. I’ve had two of these.

Actually, one of the punch biopsies was done on a harmless skin barnacle (I had requested the procedure just to play safe, because the dermatologist didn’t sound 100 percent sure that the lesion was a skin barnacle).

Anyways, the actual punch technique itself does not hurt. Prior to performing the punch biopsy, the dermatologist will anesthetize the area, which of course requires a needle to inject the anesthetic.

But in both cases, I did not perceive true pain, like the kind of pain you feel when you accidentally get pricked by a needle.

If you sew or otherwise handle needles and have accidentally gotten pricked, trust me, the anesthetizing injection feels nothing like that.

Once the area is numbed, you will not feel the “punch.” A punch biopsy is when a margin of surrounding tissue which includes below the surface of the mole is removed. As a result, stitches are necessary.

There is no pain, or at least, in my two cases there wasn’t, after the numbing drug wears off.

It doesn’t even sting or burn. In fact, the only problem I had was irritation from the adhesive of the Band-Aid.

Do not fear having a punch biopsy performed for mole removal. It does not hurt.

Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.  
 
 
Top image: BruceBlaus