When we enter life on this planet we unfortunately do not come with any guarantee that we will be forever free of any defect of skin surface. And, with time, those defects emerge: bumps and tags and marks and blemishes of countless varieties.

Sophisticated lasers and cosmeceutical creams can help us deal with a number of these bits and pieces but, before these latest treatments were available, your old doctor had to rely on a more basic approach to removing the removable, and more often than not that involved some form of heat application to the troublesome spot.

The modern way to deal with these bumps and tags is cold cautery or “hyfrecation”. This is a radiofrequency-based process that heats and destroys unwanted bumps with a short and safe electrical zap.

After a small injection of local anaesthetic, the hyfrecator needle is applied to the unwanted tag, a short dose of zap is administered, and the tag is combusted and gone.

This device is also useful to maintain a bloodless field in performing minor surgery.

If anything on your skin looks like it should be “burnt off”, come along and we will assess it and Hyfrecate it if that’s the best thing to do for you.