What a skin tag is
A skin tag, or acrochordon, is a benign stalk of fibrous tissue and blood vessels. Tags appear where skin rubs. Common places are the neck, underarms, eyelids, groin and the area under the bust.
Tags have been linked to weight gain, pregnancy and insulin resistance. If you have many, it may be worth talking this through with the doctor. Dr Sin Yong examines each lesion himself, then carries out the removal in clinic.
How skin tag removal is done in Singapore
Fine scissors or a blade cut the stalk at its base, and any bleeding point is sealed. This fits fine tags on narrow stalks and clusters on the neck.
Heat removes the stalk and seals the base in one step. This fits small tags, tags with a vessel, and numerous fine tags.
An ablative laser takes the tag off in controlled layers. This fits broader bases and precise sites such as the eyelid margin.
Who this suits
Removal is for people with tags in the usual friction sites, including neck clusters, underarms, folds and eyelids. Size, width of base and site guide the choice of method. Eyelid tags receive extra care and the lowest effective setting. Several tags on the neck or in folds may be treated in one visit, and the number is agreed at assessment.
Lesions that need a diagnosis first
These are checked by dermatoscopy. A benign mole may be shaved or treated with radiofrequency or CO2 laser, and an atypical one is excised.
These are treated in cycles. Please see our wart removal page.
Once confirmed, these may be shaved, curetted or treated with CO2 laser.
Yellow plaques, pearly papules and firm nodules are diagnosed first, since xanthelasma and cysts also occur there.
When removal should wait
A lesion that is firm, pigmented, growing or bleeding should not be removed until it has a diagnosis. The same applies to anything that does not look like a typical tag. Please do not attempt removal at home. If anything about a removed lesion was atypical, the tissue goes for histology. The clinic will explain what the result means for you.
What treatment cannot do
New tags at new sites over the years are expected. This is not a failure of treatment.
No cream dissolves a tag, and tag-removal products can damage the skin nearby.
Thread-tying and home freezing kits are not advised.
Risks and side effects
Dark marks, known as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, are the main cosmetic risk in Fitzpatrick III to V skin. Marks on the eyelid are more visible. Removing a mole or wart on a stalk without examining it risks a missed diagnosis. Home methods carry their own risks, including bleeding, infection, and burns or slow tissue death in the skin around the tag. Please report spreading redness, pus or increasing pain promptly.
What happens at your visit
Recovery and aftercare
Each site forms a small crust that falls away by itself. It can feel slightly tender, and this eases as it heals. Keep the site clean and lightly moisturised, and do not pick it. Reduce friction with a soft collar, no necklace over neck sites, and loose clothing under the arms. Use sun protection on exposed sites.
How fees are set
Fees depend on the number of tags, their size and base, the sites treated, especially the eyelids, and the method used. A figure given before examination would not reflect your lesions, so fees are set out at consultation.