Also called as skin tags, these are small growths of skin which develops on the armpit, groin, neck and face of people. They do not cause any harm and are not malignant or cancerous. These are common soft harmless lesions which appear to hang off the skin. They can develop in both men and women as they grow old. They are generally skin colored or darker and their size ranges from 1mm to 5cm. It occurs frequently in obese persons and those suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus. The surface of the skin tags may be irregular or smooth in appearance. Sometimes they are raised from the surface of the skin on a fleshy stalk called a peduncle.  Although they are painless and do not change in shape or size, but they can result in occasional irritation from rubbing caused by clothing or other types of friction. If considered histologically, these lesions have a connective tissue stalk which is composed of loose collagen fibers with numerous dilated capillaries with overlying acanthosis, hyperkeratosis and papillomatosis in the epidermis.

Cause

Skin tags are caused due to genetic reasons but the precise cause is unknown. They are thought to be correlated with age and obesity. It occurs more commonly in people suffering from diabetes mellitus. It is expected that by the age of seventy, around sixty percent of people suffer from it.

Symptoms

The symptoms of acrochordons are small skin growths which are usually skin colored and are sometimes dark and may have a narrow stalk. The diagnosis is conducted on the basis of appearance of the skin.

Treatment

They do not require any treatment. If one does not like them or they become sore due to rubbing caused by jewelry or clothing, they can be removed surgically. Healing process ranges from one to two weeks. New skin tags may occur even if the existing tags are removed. The different ways of removing skin tags are:

Cryosurgery

In this case the acrochordons are frozen and then they are removed quickly and painlessly. It is an expensive treatment which may require a longer duration of time.

Surgical removal

The skin tags are removed with the help of a scalpel or surgical scissors. It can result in some uncomfort for the patients and may cause scars. It may also result in excess bleeding for those patients who are taking blood thinners.

Skin tags can also be electronically burned using a cautery. It is not a painful procedure but is quite expensive resulting in scars.