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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Four different professionals will look at a mole for you, and they are not interchangeable. The distinction that matters is not seniority but whether the person assessing the lesion is also the person who will deal with it — because that determines whether the assessment is followed by a referral, a wait, and a second opinion, or by a decision. Where the answer is likely to be surgical, having those two roles in one person removes a step and a delay.
The Four Routes, Compared
| GP | Dermatologist | Plastic surgeon | Aesthetic clinic / therapist | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uses dermoscopy | Sometimes | Yes, routinely | Yes, routinely | Variable |
| Can refer urgently | Yes — the gateway to the NHS two-week pathway | Yes | Yes | No |
| Removes the lesion | No | Some do | Yes | Cosmetic removal only, if at all |
| Plans the scar | — | Variable | Core training | No |
| Sends tissue for histology | — | Yes | Yes | Usually not — and often cannot |
| Cost | Free on the NHS | Private or NHS referral | Private or NHS referral | Private |
When a GP Is the Right First Stop
For a lesion that genuinely looks suspicious, a GP is not a lesser option — it is the correct one. The GP is the gateway to the NHS urgent suspected-cancer pathway, that pathway is designed for exactly this, and it moves quickly: across London, 95.2% of patients start treatment within 31 days of a decision to treat. Paying privately does not make that faster.
Referral follows the NICE weighted checklist, where a score of 3 or more triggers an urgent referral: change in size, irregular shape and irregular colour score 2 each; diameter of 7 mm or more, inflammation, oozing and change in sensation score 1 each. Any lesion where dermoscopy suggests melanoma, and any new growing nodule, is referred regardless of score.
What a GP will not do is remove the lesion. Excision is not part of routine general practice, and a referral for cosmetic removal of a harmless mole is not usually funded. Fewer than one in ten patients arriving here with a suspected skin cancer have been declined or told to wait by the NHS — the delay sits in routine dermatology, not in the cancer pathway. Criteria and waits in removal on the NHS.
What a Dermatologist Brings
Dermatology is the medical specialty of skin disease, and for diagnosis of pigmented lesions a dermatologist works with dermoscopy as standard. Where the question is what is this, particularly across a wide range of skin conditions rather than a single lesion, that breadth is the relevant expertise.
The variable is what happens after the diagnosis. Some dermatologists perform excisions; many refer surgical work onwards. If the likely answer to your lesion is that it needs cutting out and closing neatly, it is worth asking at the point of booking whether the person assessing it will also be the person doing it.
What a Plastic Surgeon Brings
Two things that are specific rather than general.
The excision is planned as surgery, not as removal. Where anatomy allows, the incision is oriented along natural skin tension lines so the resulting scar falls where it is least conspicuous. Margins, closure technique and orientation are decisions with consequences that show for years, and on the face they show permanently. This is core plastic surgical training rather than an added interest.
Assessment and treatment sit with one person. A suspicious lesion can be excised at the same appointment rather than at a second one after a referral. That matters clinically as well as practically: the decision about how to remove a lesion — whole, with a 2 mm margin, preserving the ability to measure Breslow thickness — is made by the person who will carry it out.
“A photograph is only as useful as the person interpreting it, and the interpretation has to be done by someone who will also be the one performing the procedure.”— Mr Onur Gilleard, Consultant Plastic Surgeon
Where melanoma is confirmed, no private clinic manages it alone. Every case is referred into a skin cancer multidisciplinary team — a national requirement rather than a local preference.
The Route to Be Careful With
Aesthetic clinics and therapists remove skin lesions, and for a confirmed benign lesion in trained hands that is often perfectly reasonable. The limitation is not technique. It is diagnostic, and it is structural.
Most cosmetic removal methods — laser, cautery, cryotherapy, radiofrequency — destroy the lesion in place. Nothing intact remains, so nothing can be sent to a pathologist. For a lesion that was benign, that costs nothing. For a lesion that was not, the diagnosis and the staging are lost together, and the patient learns nothing until it recurs.
The question worth asking before any lesion is removed by anyone is therefore not “how good are you at this?” but “what happens if this turns out not to be what we think it is?” An answer that describes an alternative pathway — excision with histology, or referral — is a good sign. An answer that does not contemplate the possibility is itself informative.
How to Check Who You Are Seeing
All of this is verifiable in a few minutes, and it is worth doing.
- The GMC register is public and searchable at gmc-uk.org. A doctor’s name, registration number and whether they hold a licence to practise are all listed.
- The Specialist Register is the part that matters. Being on the GMC register means someone is a doctor; being on the Specialist Register in a given specialty means they have completed specialist training in it. The two are frequently conflated in marketing.
- “Consultant” is not a protected title in the private sector in the way people assume. Verify it against the Specialist Register rather than against a website.
- Professional memberships — BAAPS, BAPRAS, the British Association of Dermatologists — indicate engagement with the specialty, though they are supporting evidence rather than the primary check.
- CQC registration applies to the clinic rather than the clinician, and covers how the service is run.
For reference: this clinic’s surgeons are Mr Onur Gilleard (GMC 6120741) and Mr Reza Alamouti, both consultant plastic surgeons on the GMC Specialist Register. The fuller set of things worth checking before booking anywhere is in choosing a mole clinic in London.
Choosing, in One Table
| Your situation | Where to start |
|---|---|
| A lesion that looks genuinely suspicious — changing, bleeding, growing fast | GP, for the urgent NHS pathway |
| Worried about one lesion, want it resolved rather than watched | Private assessment with dermoscopy by someone who can also remove it |
| Many moles, atypical moles, or a family history | Mole mapping rather than a single-lesion check |
| A mole on the face you want removed neatly | Plastic surgeon — scar planning is the whole point |
| A rash or widespread skin condition | Dermatologist |
| A confirmed benign lesion, removal purely cosmetic | Any competent route — but confirm the diagnosis first |
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Consultation and mole check | £100 |
| Mole mapping — complete package | £300 |
| Mole removal | £350 |
| Histological analysis | £180 |
Appointments at 101 Harley Street or the St Albans clinic: mole removal or contact the clinic.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Should a dermatologist or a plastic surgeon check my mole?
- Both use dermoscopy and both are appropriate for diagnosis. The practical difference is what happens next: a plastic surgeon performs the excision, plans the scar, and can deal with the lesion at the same appointment. If the likely answer is surgical, that removes a referral and a wait.
- Is a GP mole check good enough?
- For deciding whether a lesion needs urgent referral, yes — and the GP is the gateway to the NHS two-week pathway, which is fast and is the right route for a genuinely suspicious lesion. What a GP will not do is remove it, and cosmetic removal of a harmless mole is not usually funded.
- Is “consultant” a protected title?
- Not in the private sector in the way most people assume. The meaningful check is the GMC Specialist Register, which records completion of specialist training in a named specialty. It is public and takes a minute to search.
- Can an aesthetic clinic remove a mole?
- Technically often yes, and for a confirmed benign lesion that may be fine. The limitation is diagnostic: methods that destroy tissue leave nothing for a pathologist, so a lesion that turns out not to be what everyone assumed cannot afterwards be examined.
- What is the single best question to ask before booking?
- “What happens if this turns out not to be what we think it is?” An answer describing an alternative pathway — excision with histology, or referral — is reassuring. An answer that does not contemplate the possibility tells you something.
- If it is cancer, does going private disadvantage me?
- No. A patient diagnosed privately cannot be disadvantaged in NHS care and does not go to the back of a queue. Every confirmed melanoma is referred into a skin cancer multidisciplinary team, which is a national requirement rather than a choice.
- Does it matter more for a mole on the face?
- Considerably. Scar orientation, closure technique and margin planning all show permanently on facial skin, and that is core plastic surgical training rather than an incidental skill.
- What if I have a lot of moles rather than one?
- A single-lesion consultation answers the wrong question. Where there is a lot to track, photographic surveillance compared year on year is the appropriate service — the indications are set out in who is at high risk of melanoma.
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