Actinic keratoses, or solar keratoses, are rough, dry, scaly, pink-brown papules and plaques that most often occur on chronic sun-exposed skin. These lesions are precancerous because they can advance to become invasive squamous cell carcinoma.
Actinic keratoses can become malignant, so early diagnosis and treatment are highly recommended. This is especially important if a lesion changes, becomes more tender, increases in size, or begins to bleed. We offer many options for removing actinic keratoses, including the use of prescription topical medications, skin peels, liquid nitrogen, photodynamic therapy with blue light, shave removal, and curettage.