Cherry Angioma Evaluation & Removal in Danville, CA
Cherry Angiomas: Checking and Removing Them
Cherry angiomas are very common benign vascular growths that usually appear as small red, purple or blue-red spots and become more common with age. They normally do not require treatment. If a lesion bleeds, changes, looks atypical or the diagnosis is uncertain, it should be examined before cosmetic removal. When removal is desired, options can include vascular laser, electrosurgery or cryotherapy depending on the lesion.
Cherry angiomas are the small bright red spots that most people start collecting from their thirties onwards. They are tiny knots of blood vessels in the skin, they are harmless, and they get more common with age. They do not need treating. If one bleeds, changes, looks odd, or nobody is sure what it is, it should be examined before anyone removes it for appearance. When you do want one gone, it can be treated with a laser aimed at blood vessels, burned off with a small electric current, or frozen.
Cherry Angiomas: the essentials
The short version
Common benign vascular papules caused by a proliferation/dilation of small cutaneous blood vessels.
Harmless little clusters of small blood vessels in the skin.
Usually small, round, firm red, purple or blue-red papules, often on the trunk and proximal limbs.
Small, round, firm spots, red, purple or blue-red. Usually on the trunk and the upper arms and legs.
Usually none unless the lesion bleeds, is repeatedly traumatized, is diagnostically uncertain or removal is desired for cosmetic reasons.
Usually not, unless one keeps bleeding, keeps getting caught, nobody is sure what it is, or you simply want it gone.
Vascular laser, electrosurgery/electrodesiccation, cryotherapy and occasionally other methods depending on size and location.
A laser aimed at blood vessels, a small electric current, or freezing. It depends on the size and where it is.
No treatment should be advertised as 100% effective or scar-free; temporary discoloration, crusting or a small scar can occur.
Nobody should tell you removal always works or never leaves a mark. You can be left with a patch of different colour, a crust, or a small scar.
Typical cherry angiomas are benign and do not have malignant potential. Atypical-looking lesions can mimic other growths and may need dermoscopic examination or biopsy.
An ordinary cherry angioma is harmless and does not turn into anything. But odd looking spots can be something else, and those need a proper look, sometimes with a magnifier or a small sample.
What does a cherry angioma look like?
What does one look like?
A typical cherry angioma is a small, sharply defined red-to-purple papule that may be flat at first and become slightly raised with time.
A small, sharply outlined red or purple spot. It may start flat and become slightly raised over time.
- They often occur in multiples and become more numerous with age.
- They commonly occur on the trunk and upper limbs but can appear elsewhere.
- A thrombosed cherry angioma can look dark or almost black, which is one reason an uncertain lesion should be examined.
- People usually get several, and more of them as they get older.
- They turn up mostly on the trunk and the upper arms, but they can appear anywhere.
- If the blood inside one clots, it goes dark, almost black. That is one good reason to have an unfamiliar spot looked at.
What causes cherry angiomas?
What causes them?
The exact cause is not known. They become more common with age and may cluster in families; specific acquired genetic changes have been identified in some lesions.
Nobody knows exactly. They get more common with age, they seem to run in some families, and researchers have found particular genetic changes inside some of them.
- Pregnancy has been associated with eruptive lesions in some reports, but this is not a universal cause.
- Routine cherry angiomas should not be presented as evidence of liver disease or chemical toxicity.
- Some reports link a crop of new ones to pregnancy, but that is not the usual explanation.
- Ordinary cherry angiomas are not a sign of liver disease or of chemical poisoning, whatever you may have read.
Illustration showing typical small red and purple cherry angiomas
A drawing showing typical small red and purple cherry angiomas.
When should a red spot be checked rather than simply removed?
When should a red spot be checked rather than just removed?
Any lesion that is new and atypical, rapidly changing, repeatedly bleeding without trauma, ulcerated or uncertain on examination should be assessed before cosmetic destruction.
Any spot that is new and does not look typical, that is changing quickly, that keeps bleeding without being knocked, that has broken open, or that anyone is unsure about, gets examined before it is destroyed.
- Dermatoscopy can help distinguish a cherry angioma from other vascular or pigmented lesions.
- If the diagnosis remains uncertain, biopsy may be more appropriate than laser or freezing.
- A magnifying instrument called a dermatoscope helps tell a cherry angioma from other red or brown spots.
- If it is still not clear, taking a small sample is more sensible than lasering or freezing it.
How are cherry angiomas removed?
How are they removed?
Removal is usually elective and can be performed with vascular laser, electrosurgery or cryotherapy; selection depends on lesion size, number, location, skin type and physician preference.
Removal is your choice, not a medical necessity. It can be done with a laser aimed at the blood inside, with a small electric current, or by freezing. Which suits depends on the size, how many there are, where they are, your skin type, and the doctor’s judgement.
| Vascular laser | Targets blood within the lesion with light energy | Useful for selected vascular lesions; redness, bruising/purpura and pigment change can occur |
|---|---|---|
| Electrosurgery / electrodesiccation | Uses controlled electrical energy to destroy the lesion | Can form a small crust; pigment change or scar is possible |
| Cryotherapy | Freezes the lesion | May blister/crust and can cause light or dark pigment change |
Vascular laser Light heats the blood inside the spot. Good for selected ones. You may get redness, a bruise, or a change in skin colour.
Burning it off A controlled electric current destroys it. A small crust forms. Colour change or a small scar is possible.
Freezing Very cold liquid nitrogen freezes it. It may blister or crust, and the skin may end up lighter or darker.
Who may be a good candidate for cosmetic removal?
Who is suitable for having them removed?
Adults with confidently diagnosed cherry angiomas that bleed from friction or are cosmetically bothersome may be candidates after the clinician reviews skin type, lesion number and healing history.
Adults whose spots have been confidently identified as cherry angiomas, and which either keep bleeding from rubbing or simply bother them. We look first at your skin type, how many there are, and how you have healed before.
- An uncertain diagnosis should be clarified before destructive treatment.
- Patients who form keloids or develop significant pigment change require careful discussion of cosmetic trade-offs.
- Anticoagulants or bleeding disorders can affect procedural planning.
- If nobody is sure what it is, that gets settled before anything is destroyed.
- If you form thick raised scars, or your skin changes colour easily, the trade off needs talking through properly.
- Blood thinners, or a bleeding problem, change how the procedure is planned.
Comparison of vascular laser, electrosurgery and cryotherapy for cherry angioma removal
A comparison of laser, electric current and freezing for removing cherry angiomas.
What are the risks and recovery after removal?
What are the risks, and the recovery?
Most small-lesion treatments have limited downtime, but temporary redness, swelling, bruising, crusting and pigment change are possible, and a small scar can occur.
For small spots there is usually little to recover from, but you can get redness, swelling, bruising, crusting, a change in skin colour, and occasionally a small scar.
- Do not pick treatment crusts; follow wound-care instructions.
- Sun protection helps reduce post-treatment pigment contrast.
- New cherry angiomas can develop elsewhere over time even after treated lesions are removed.
- Do not pick the crusts. Follow the aftercare you are given.
- Keeping the area out of the sun helps stop the treated spot standing out as a different colour.
- New cherry angiomas will still appear elsewhere over time, even after these ones are gone.
What results should I expect?
What result should I expect?
Individual lesions can often be removed successfully, but repeat treatment may be needed and cosmetic perfection or zero scarring cannot be guaranteed.
Individual spots can usually be cleared, but some need a second go, and nobody can promise perfection or no mark at all.
Illustrative result
What a result can look like
Illustration, not a patient photograph. Before and after cherry angioma removal. It shows the kind of change this treatment is intended to produce. Individual results vary, and no outcome is guaranteed. Photographs of real patients are published only with written consent.
This is a drawing, not a photo of a patient. It shows a before and after for cherry angioma removal, to give you an idea of the kind of change it aims at. Results are different for everyone, and nothing is guaranteed. We only publish photos of real patients with their written permission.
Questions patients ask
Are cherry angiomas cancerous?
Are cherry angiomas cancer?
Typical cherry angiomas are benign and have no malignant potential. If a lesion looks atypical or changes, it should be examined because other lesions can mimic them.
Ordinary ones are harmless and do not turn into anything. If one looks unusual or has been changing, it should be examined, because other things can look like them.
Why am I getting more cherry angiomas?
Why am I getting more of them?
They become more common and more numerous with age. The exact cause is not fully understood.
They simply become more common, and more numerous, as you get older. Nobody fully understands why.
Can laser remove cherry angiomas?
Can a laser remove them?
Yes, vascular laser is one accepted option for selected lesions, but electrosurgery and cryotherapy are also used. No single method is clearly best for every lesion.
Yes, a laser aimed at blood vessels is one accepted option for some of them. Burning them off and freezing them are also used. No single method is best for every spot.
Will cherry angioma removal leave a scar?
Will it leave a scar?
A small scar or pigment change is possible with any destructive procedure, so “scar-free” removal should not be guaranteed.
A small scar, or a patch of different colour, is possible with any method that destroys tissue. Nobody should promise you scar free removal.
What if a cherry angioma bleeds?
What if one bleeds?
Bleeding can occur after scratching or friction. Recurrent or unexplained bleeding should be evaluated, especially if the diagnosis has not been confirmed.
They bleed if scratched or rubbed. If one keeps bleeding, or bleeds for no reason, get it looked at, especially if nobody has confirmed what it is.
Can cherry angiomas come back?
Will they come back?
A treated lesion may be removed, but new cherry angiomas commonly develop elsewhere as time passes.
The one that was treated is gone, but new ones commonly turn up elsewhere as the years go on.
Where to go next
Talk it through with a physician first.
Every plan starts with an assessment of your skin, your anatomy and what you actually want to change.
This page is general health information, not medical advice. It cannot tell you whether a treatment is right for you. Approved uses, risks and results differ from person to person, and product labelling changes. Ask us at Dermatology and Laser Centre about your own situation, or make an appointment, and seek urgent care for any serious symptom.
