Mr. Onur Gilleard
Qualifications & Experience
Mr Onur Gilleard is a distinguished consultant plastic surgeon on the GMC specialist register. He previously held an NHS consultant post at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, specialising in skin cancer and microsurgical reconstruction. In 2021, Mr Gilleard transitioned from the NHS to dedicate himself fully to private practice, allowing him to focus exclusively on providing personalised, high-quality care to his patients. He is recognised as an expert in laser treatments, having conducted research and developed advanced treatment protocols using cutting-edge laser technology to optimise both clinical outcomes and cosmetic results.
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Mole mapping at this clinic is £300, and that figure covers the consultation, the imaging and the written report. What it does not cover is what happens if something is found — removal is £350 and histology £180 — and being clear about that split before you attend is more useful than a headline price. The subsequent annual map is also £300; there is no discount, and no annual package.
What the £300 Covers
| Included in the mole mapping package |
|---|
| Consultation and risk assessment with a consultant plastic surgeon or dermatologist |
| Standardised total-body photography — roughly 60 to 100 overview images |
| Dermoscopic imaging of individual lesions of interest — typically 10 to 40 images |
| Cataloguing of individual lesions against the body map, typically 60 to 100 of them |
| AI comparison against previous visits, where they exist |
| Consultant review of every image, live in the room |
| Verbal summary before you leave |
| Written report within five working days, digitally, with a copy to your GP on request |
The appointment runs 45 to 60 minutes. What that time buys is set out in your mole mapping appointment, and what arrives afterwards in your mole map report.
What Is Charged Separately
One thing, and it only applies if something is found.
| Item | Price | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Excision by a plastic surgeon | £350 | Where a lesion needs removing — carried out at the same appointment |
| Each additional lesion removed | £200 | Same visit |
| Histological analysis | £180 | Where the lesion’s features warrant laboratory examination |
Two points worth knowing in advance. Around 20% of patients who attend for a map have something removed — so this is a realistic possibility rather than a remote one, and worth budgeting for. And histology is applied where features warrant it rather than routinely on every removal, so it is a clinical decision rather than an automatic addition.
The Second Map, and the Ones After That
Each subsequent map is also £300. There is no repeat discount, and no annual programme package. The clinic’s position is that the price is already set competitively rather than inflated on the first visit and discounted afterwards.
Worth being explicit about the economics, since surveillance is a recurring cost rather than a one-off: the value of a mole map is not delivered on the day you pay for it. At baseline there is nothing to compare against, so the comparison function — which is the entire point — only begins at the second visit.
“Most of what we find will be nothing, and the point of the map is not to find something today. Patients arrive expecting a verdict. What they are actually buying is a reference point — and the value of it arrives a year from now.”— Mr Onur Gilleard, Consultant Plastic Surgeon
How often you need to repeat it depends on risk rather than on preference: annual for stable patients with risk factors, six-monthly for atypical mole syndrome or a known CDKN2A mutation, and three-monthly for the first one to two years after a melanoma. Detail in how often mole mapping should be repeated.
The Cheaper Option, and When It Is the Right One
If your concern is one lesion rather than your whole skin, a full map is the wrong purchase.
A £100 consultation covers examination and dermoscopy of the lesions you have come about, with a clinical opinion the same day. Where removal is the answer it happens at that appointment. For a person with a handful of stable moles and one that has started to bother them, that is the proportionate service.
| Your situation | What to book | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| One or two lesions you have noticed | Consultation with dermoscopy | £100 |
| Many moles, atypical moles, family history, previous melanoma | Full mole mapping | £300 |
| A lesion you already know needs removing | Consultation, then excision same visit | £100 + £350 |
Being honest about the middle row: mole mapping is a risk-stratified service, not a population screening test. For someone with a small number of ordinary moles, no atypical lesions, no family history and no immunosuppression, regular self-examination with a low threshold for review is a reasonable substitute — and is what the clinic recommends rather than selling a map to everyone. The indications are set out in who is at high risk of melanoma.
Insurance, NHS and Why This Is Self-Pay
The NHS does not run a population screening programme for skin cancer. Its pathway is diagnostic: a lesion that is already suspicious is referred by a GP, with urgent cases going onto the two-week route. Screening for the purpose of establishing a baseline is a private service.
Insurers apply the same distinction. Screening of an asymptomatic patient is generally excluded, so a routine mole map is self-pay. Diagnostic investigation of a lesion that is symptomatic or changing is often covered, subject to policy, a referral, and pre-authorisation obtained before you attend. The practical consequence is that a policy may decline the map and then cover the excision the map produced.
More on where each line falls in mole screening and health insurance and removal on the NHS.
What to Check When Comparing Prices
Headline figures in this market are not comparable without asking four questions.
- Is the consultation included, or added? Here it is included in the £300.
- Who performs the review — and when? Imaging can be delegated; interpretation is the service you are buying. Here the images are reviewed by the consultant live in the room during the appointment, not read remotely afterwards.
- Is dermoscopy included, or is it total-body photography only? Photography alone finds new lesions; dermoscopy assesses them. A map without dermoscopic imaging of individual lesions is doing half the job.
- What does the follow-up map cost? A low first price with an expensive repeat is a different proposition over five years, and surveillance is a five-year decision rather than a one-year one.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much does mole mapping cost?
- £300 for the complete package, covering the consultation and risk assessment, total-body photography, dermoscopic imaging of individual lesions, AI comparison, live consultant review and the written report.
- Is the consultation extra?
- No. The consultation and risk assessment are part of the £300 package. The separate £100 consultation fee applies when you are attending about specific lesions rather than for a full map.
- Is the follow-up map cheaper?
- No — each subsequent map is also £300. There is no repeat discount and no annual package; the position is that the price is set competitively from the outset rather than discounted later.
- Only if something needs removing, and that is quotable in advance: £350 for the excision, £200 for each additional lesion, and £180 for histological analysis where the lesion warrants it. Around 20% of patients who attend for a map have something removed.
- What if I only want one mole checked?
- A £100 consultation covers examination and dermoscopy of the lesions you have come about, with removal at the same visit if that is the answer. A full map is the wrong purchase for a single lesion.
- Will insurance pay for it?
- Generally not for screening, which most policies exclude. Diagnostic investigation of a lesion that is symptomatic or changing is often covered, subject to policy, a referral and pre-authorisation obtained before the appointment.
- Is mole mapping available on the NHS?
- Not as a screening service. The NHS pathway is for lesions that are already suspicious, referred by a GP, with urgent cases going onto the two-week suspected-cancer route.
- Is it worth £300 if nothing is found?
- That depends on how much there is to track. For someone with many or atypical moles, a family history or a previous melanoma, the baseline is what makes next year’s comparison possible — and that comparison is the mechanism by which melanoma gets caught early. For someone with a few stable moles and no risk factors, it is a reasonable choice but not a clinical necessity, and it should be described that way.
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