Patient Guide · September 2026
If you've priced out getting a skin tag, mole, or other benign growth removed, you've probably found quotes ranging from under $100 to over $1,000 - often for what sounds like the same thing.
The reason is that "lesion removal" covers everything from a ten-second freeze of a tiny skin tag to the careful excision of a mole that needed a proper medical assessment first. Where you go, who assesses it, and how it's priced all vary - and almost nobody publishes their numbers.
In September 2026 we asked clinics across Victoria, Burnaby and Vancouver what they charge to remove benign skin lesions - skin studios, med spas, cosmetic clinics, and physician-run practices. The honest picture:
Figures are from direct quotes provided by BC clinics and from prices published on clinic websites in September 2026. Not every clinic contacted would share pricing without a consultation. Prices change - confirm with any provider directly.
Removing a skin tag is easy. Knowing that the brown spot next to it is a harmless seborrheic keratosis - and not something that needs a biopsy - is the part that actually requires medical training.
This is the quiet problem with shopping for lesion removal on price alone: at many clinics, the person quoting you is not the person qualified to tell you whether the lesion should be removed at all, or whether it needs a closer look first. A concerning lesion should never be removed cosmetically without proper assessment - it should be evaluated, sampled if needed, or referred on.
When removal is appropriate, the method depends on the lesion: freezing (cryotherapy) for some, electrocautery or gentle shave removal for others, and a small excision for certain lesions. Treatment is done in a short visit under local anaesthetic where needed, and some lesions are sent to the lab to confirm the diagnosis. The right method for your specific lesion - and what it involves - is explained at the visit.
My practice works differently from the private clinics above, because it starts with a medical assessment rather than a sales consultation.
That last point is true at every clinic in BC: cosmetic removal is always a private cost. The difference is whether the assessment that comes first is a covered medical visit or a paid consultation.
Ask your family doctor or nurse practitioner to send a referral to Dr. Baldwin at Hillside Medical Clinic in Victoria or Kensington Medical Clinic in Burnaby, and the clinic will contact you to arrange an appointment. If you are unsure whether a spot needs attention at all, that is exactly the kind of thing an assessment is for.
Related reading: Benign lesion assessment & removal · What are sebaceous hyperplasias? · Wart treatments · Keloid scars
The first step is an assessment - covered by MSP with a referral. Ask your family doctor or nurse practitioner to refer you to Dr. Baldwin in Victoria or Burnaby, and if removal is appropriate, you'll know exactly what is involved and what, if anything, it costs before anything is done.