Acrochordon Treatment & Management

  • Author: Robert A Schwartz, MD, MPH; Chief Editor: Dirk M Elston, MD   more...
 
Updated: Mar 9, 2012
 

Surgical Care

Skin tags are generally treated for noncosmetic reasons.

Small, pedunculated acrochordons may be removed with curved or serrated blade scissors, while larger skin tags may simply require excision. For small acrochordons, application of aluminum chloride prior to removal will decrease the amount of minor bleeding.

Anesthesia prior to electrodesiccation is another option.

Other methods of removal include cryotherapy and ligation with a suture or a copper wire[30] ; however, freezing of the surrounding skin during liquid nitrogen cryotherapy may result in dyschromic lesions. Taking hold of the acrochordon with forceps and applying cryotherapy to the forceps may provide superior results.

A 2008 report describes a patient with circumferential prolapsed hemorrhoids with skin tags; the patient was treated with a modified Ferguson hemorrhoidectomy, with successful results.[31]

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Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Robert A Schwartz, MD, MPH  Professor and Head, Dermatology, Professor of Pathology, Pediatrics, Medicine, and Preventive Medicine and Community Health, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School

Robert A Schwartz, MD, MPH is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Dermatology, American College of Physicians, and Sigma Xi

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Agnieszka Terlikowska, MD  Staff Physician, Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Wanda M Patterson, MD  Department of Dermatology, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School

Wanda M Patterson, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Sigma Xi

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Evan R Farmer, MD  Clinical Professor of Pathology and Dermatology, Department of Pathology, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine

Evan R Farmer, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Dermatology, American Dermatological Association, American Medical Association, American Society of Dermatopathology, and International Society of Dermatology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Michael J Wells, MD  Associate Professor, Department of Dermatology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Paul L Foster School of Medicine

Michael J Wells, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Dermatology, American Medical Association, and Texas Medical Association

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Jeffrey J Miller, MD  Associate Professor of Dermatology, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine; Staff Dermatologist, Pennsylvania State Milton S Hershey Medical Center

Jeffrey J Miller, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Dermatology, Association of Professors of Dermatology, North American Hair Research Society, and Society for Investigative Dermatology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Joel M Gelfand, MD, MSCE  Medical Director, Clinical Studies Unit, Assistant Professor, Department of Dermatology, Associate Scholar, Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania

Joel M Gelfand, MD, MSCE is a member of the following medical societies: Society for Investigative Dermatology

Disclosure: AMGEN Consulting fee Consulting; AMGEN Grant/research funds Investigator; Genentech Grant/research funds investigator; Centocor Consulting fee Consulting; Abbott Grant/research funds investigator; Abbott Consulting fee Consulting; Novartis investigator; Pfizer Grant/research funds investigator; Celgene Consulting fee DMC Chair; NIAMS and NHLBI Grant/research funds investigator

Chief Editor

Dirk M Elston, MD  Director, Ackerman Academy of Dermatopathology, New York

Dirk M Elston, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Dermatology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

References

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A 53-year-old man with multiple, small, axillary skin tags.
A hyperplastic epidermis showing papillomatosis, hyperkeratosis, and acanthosis overlying loosely arranged collagen fibers and many capillaries.
A higher-power view demonstrating to better advantage loosely arranged collagen fibers and many capillaries.
 
 
 
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