Electrodesiccation and Curettage vs Shave Removal

Electrodesiccation and Curettage: A small, low-risk skin cancer is scraped out with a sharp loop, and the base is then burned. It takes one visit and needs no stitches. It leaves a round pale scar, and the edges are never checked under a microscope.

Shave Removal: A raised spot is numbed and shaved off level with the skin using a small flexible blade. No stitches and no hole — a scab that heals in a week or two. The same procedure can remove a harmless bump or take a sample for the laboratory.

Reviewed by Dr. Schwarz, Board-Certified Dermatologist
Last updated: 10/22/2026

Editorial illustration for Electrodesiccation and Curettage, based on the entry’s treatment or equipment reference.

Editorial illustration for Shave Removal, based on the entry’s treatment or equipment reference.

Choose if Key differences What is it?What it treats Treatment areas Skin tones How it works Before your treatment Day of treatment After your treatment Risks Cost Questions Related

Choose Electrodesiccation and Curettage if…

Choose for a small, low-risk skin cancer on the body when one quick visit with no stitches matters more than margin checking.

A small, low-risk basal cell cancer
On the trunk or limbs, not the face
You accept a round pale scar

Choose Shave Removal if…

Choose to remove a raised bump with no stitches — a flat mark that heals in a week or two.

A raised, harmless-looking bump
You want no stitches
The sample goes to the lab if pigmented

Often combined

Can you have both?

Often done together: a shave removes the growth and curettage cleans the base.

Key differences

● Electrodesiccation and Curettage

● Shave Removal

DowntimeNone → 2+ weeks

2+ weeks

1–2 weeks

PainMinimal → Needs anesthesia or sedation

Mild

Minimal

Results showImmediately → 3+ months

Immediately

How long it lastsWeeks → Years or permanent

Years or permanent

Visits neededOne → Every few months

One

Cost per visit$ → $$$$$

ReversibleYes, can be undone → No, permanent

No, permanent

What is it?

Electrodesiccation and Curettage

Shave Removal

What is it?

It combines scraping and heat.

A lesion is scraped with a curette and treated electrically.

It suits superficial lesions.

It can treat carefully selected low-risk skin cancers.

It does not check margins.

It lacks the margin assessment of excision or Mohs surgery.

Not every cancer qualifies.

Type, site, size and depth determine suitability.

It uses a blade.

A lesion is shaved off at a chosen depth under local anesthesia.

It removes or samples.

It can remove raised benign growths or obtain a specimen.

Depth depends on the diagnosis.

The clinician chooses the technique.

Suspicious moles need a proper biopsy.

Cosmetic removal must not replace adequate sampling.

What it treats

Evidence level

Electrodesiccation and Curettage

Shave Removal

Strong evidenceMost established uses

Basal Cell Carcinoma

High cure rates for small tumors.

Two growths on the upper back on fair skin. One is a flat light tan patch and the other is a raised mid-brown growth with a rough waxy surface and a sharply defined edge.

Seborrheic Keratosis

Removes growths quickly.

Moles

Removes raised moles.

Seborrheic Keratosis

Removes raised growths.

AI-generated educational illustration: A small soft hanging skin growth on light skin.

Skin Tags

Quick removal.

Moderate evidenceSome supportive research

AI-generated educational illustration: Crusted red raised lesion on a light-skinned sun-exposed hand.

Squamous Cell Carcinoma

For small, low-risk tumors.

—

Not effective

Melanoma

Needs excision with margins.

Melanoma

Needs full excision.

A smooth, dome-shaped lump about two centimetres across on the upper back on pale skin, with a tiny dark pore at its center and faintly pink skin over it.

Epidermal Inclusion Cyst

The sac stays and regrows.

Can make it worse

A raised, smooth, firm scar on the upper chest on light skin. It is shiny pink-red and hairless, and its edges spread well past the small mark it grew from.

Keloids

Can trigger new keloids.

—

Treatment areas

The specific lesion, scar or affected patch determines the treatment site; there is no fixed body distribution.

Skin tones

Skin tone

● Electrodesiccation and Curettage

● Shave Removal

Lighter skin

Some risk

A round pale scar.

Low risk

A flat pink or pale mark.

Medium skin

Some risk

Pale scar is more visible.

Some risk

Lighter or darker mark possible.

Deeper skin

Higher risk

Pale or raised scars are more noticeable; discuss excision.

Some risk

A noticeable pale or dark mark is more likely.

How it works

Electrodesiccation and Curettage

Shave Removal

How it works

Curettage & Electrodesiccation mechanism diagram. A curette removes tissue: A clinician scrapes away the selected lesion. Electrical treatment treats the base: Energy dries or coagulates tissue in the treatment bed. The wound heals: The open area repairs with scar tissue; follow-up remains important.

Shave Removal mechanism diagram. The depth is selected: The technique is chosen for the lesion and diagnostic need. Raised tissue is shaved away: A blade removes the selected tissue and creates a specimen. The surface repairs: The wound heals; pathology may show whether more care is needed.

Diagram explanation

A curette removes tissue: A clinician scrapes away the selected lesion. Electrical treatment treats the base: Energy dries or coagulates tissue in the treatment bed. The wound heals: The open area repairs with scar tissue; follow-up remains important.

Schematic illustration. Technique and response vary. This explains a mechanism and does not specify treatment settings.

The depth is selected: The technique is chosen for the lesion and diagnostic need. Raised tissue is shaved away: A blade removes the selected tissue and creates a specimen. The surface repairs: The wound heals; pathology may show whether more care is needed.

Schematic illustration. Technique and response vary. This explains a mechanism and does not specify treatment settings.

Before your treatment

Electrodesiccation and Curettage

Shave Removal

The week before

Do not stop: Blood thinners: Aspirin, clopidogrel, warfarin, apixaban, rivaroxaban and similar are usually continued — extra oozing is easier to manage than a clot or a stroke.

Ointment and dressings: Buy plain petrolatum ointment and non-stick dressings beforehand, not on the way home.

What gets removed: Decide what you want done with each spot, and ask that anything removed goes to the laboratory.

Day of treatment

Electrodesiccation and Curettage

Shave Removal

Before you arrive

What to wear and eat: Wear something you do not mind getting blood on.

Eating and clothes: Eat normally, take your usual medicines, and wear clothes that give easy access.

Arrival & prep

The lesion is matched against the biopsy report, photographed, and consent signed.

The spot is examined, often with a handheld magnifier, and measured or photographed.

Treatment

The doctor scrapes with the curette, which feels like pressure and tugging, not pain.

The electric probe follows, with a faint buzz and a smell of burning. The pair is repeated two or three times; one lesion takes about 10 to 20 minutes. Nothing should feel sharp once you are numb, so say so if it does.

The skin is cleaned, and a blade held nearly parallel to the surface slices the lesion off in seconds.

Bleeding is stopped with a solution on a cotton bud or light cautery — it can smell faintly of burning and is not painful. You feel pressure and scraping, not cutting; say something if anything feels sharp.

Before you leave

A round, shallow, raw crater slightly larger than the growth, under ointment and a dressing.

A dressing, aftercare instructions, and a plan for how the result reaches you.

After your treatment

Electrodesiccation and Curettage

Shave Removal

First 24 hours

Day 1 to 7: The wound weeps and the base looks yellow.

Days 1 to 3: The anesthetic wears off over one to three hours, and the site is tender and may ooze.

Days 2–7

Not specified

Days 4 to 14: New skin fills the site and any scab lifts on its own.

Weeks 2–4

Weeks 2 to 6: The crater shrinks and the base turns pink.

From week 2: A flat pink circle sits where the spot was, looking more obvious than the final result.

Beyond 1 month

Month 2 to 12: The scar starts pink and firm, then flattens and pales over roughly a year.

Not specified

Time to results

Immediately

How long results last

90–95% cure for suitable cancers

Usually permanent; some moles regrow pigment

Risks

Most of what happens after this procedure is expected rather than a complication
Incomplete removal
A raised or thickened scar
A wound that stalls
Numbness or a patch that stays firm
When to contact your provider

Bleeding that will not stop
Signs of infection
A rash where the dressing or ointment sat
A dip or a raised scar
Pigment coming back
The spot returning

Cost

Per session

This is the least expensive way to treat a skin cancer surgically.

Removal of skin tags and keratoses sits on the line.

Insurance

In the US it is billed as a destruction procedure, priced by lesion size and body site, and generally covered when it treats a diagnosed skin cancer.

In the US, cost depends on why it was done.

Questions

Electrodesiccation and Curettage

Shave Removal

Individual Questions

Does it hurt?

The numbing injection stings for under a minute. After that you feel pressure and tugging, not pain. Afterward the site is sore rather than painful, and acetaminophen is enough.

Why don't they check the edges under a microscope?

There is no intact specimen to check — the tumor is scraped away in fragments and the base burned. The method relies on the operator feeling soft tumor against firm normal tissue, which is reliable for shallow, clearly bordered tumors and unreliable for others.

What will the scar look like?

A round, flat disc, usually slightly wider than the original spot and lighter than the skin around it. Some are a little sunken, some raised. Pink at first, paling over about a year. It is permanent.

How long until it heals?

About 3 to 6 weeks on the face, trunk and arms. On the lower leg it is slower, sometimes two to three months, particularly in older adults or with diabetes or poor circulation.

Can I have this instead of Mohs surgery on my face?

Sometimes, for a small superficial tumor on the cheek or forehead. Generally not for the nose, eyelids, ears, lips or the creases around them, where recurrence is higher and there is less spare skin. Ask why one is recommended over the other for your tumor.

What are the chances it comes back?

For a well-selected, small, low-risk tumor, cure at 5 years is commonly quoted around 95 percent. That falls when the method is used on tumors it was not meant for — aggressive subtypes, recurrent tumors, unclear borders, high-risk facial sites.

Does a shave removal leave a hole?

No. It takes off the raised part and leaves a shallow wound level with the skin, which fills in over one to two weeks. The usual result is a flat mark, slightly paler than the skin around it.

Will the spot grow back?

It can. Keratoses and skin tags sometimes regrow from the base, and a shaved mole can return with color months later because pigment cells survived underneath. Have regrowth looked at, and mention that the spot was shaved.

Is a shave enough to treat a skin cancer?

Usually not. A shave normally samples a basal cell or squamous cell cancer rather than clearing it, and a second procedure follows. Keep that appointment even though the skin looks healed.

Can I have a mole shaved off just because I do not like it?

Often yes, if it has been examined and looks harmless. It is billed as cosmetic, and the trade is a flat pale mark instead of a raised bump. It should still go to the laboratory.

Do I need stitches?

No. That is the main appeal — the wound heals from the base under a layer of petroleum jelly.

How do I get the smallest mark?

Keep the site moist with plain petroleum jelly and covered until it closes over, do not pick, and keep it out of the sun for several months. Drying out and sun are what turn a small shave site into a lasting mark.

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