Digital Monitoring for Moles
Eastern Suburbs Dermatology utilises the services of a skin imaging system to map a patient’s moles, to assist in the monitoring and early detection of melanoma.
If you have a large number of moles your specialist may advise you to have your moles mapped as a more accurate way of monitoring your moles for change.
Mapping utilises the following proven tools to assist in both the diagnosis and monitoring of moles:
- Dermoscopy
- Sequential monitoring of suspect moles
- Total body photography
After your moles have been mapped, on subsequent visits to your dermatologist he/she can compare these baseline photographs on the day of your check-up. Dermoscopy or dermatoscopy is a tool used daily by your dermatologist to assess lesions on your skin more closely – essentially a 10 x illuminated magnification device is used to look at the patterns in moles, pigment marks and other skin lesions to look for clues to make a more accurate diagnosis – this also helps your dermatologist to reduce the number of biopsies or to also guide the biopsy location.