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Copyright @ Pol J Cosmetol
Pol J Cosmetol 2013, 16(1): 2-8pl  Basic concepts of current dermatoscopy - the preoperative diagnosis of melanoma malignumKatarzyna Chuchla-Szczupacka 1/, Waldemar Placek 2/ 1/ Katedra Dermatologii, Chorób Przenoszonych Drogą Płciową i Immunodermatologii, Collegium Medicum UMK w Bydgoszczy 2/ Klinika Dermatologii, Chorób Przenoszonych Drogą Płciową i Immunologii Klinicznej UWM w Olsztynie Summary Melanoma malignum (malignant melanoma, MM) is a malignant tumor, which has become more common over the past few years. One of the most important challenges for dermatologists is early detection of MM. A widely useful, noninvasive technique is dermatoscopy, which leads not only to earlier recognition of this aggressive tumor, but is also helpful for the differential diagnosis of pigmented and nonpigmented skin lesions. The article describes an overview from the beginning and development of dermatoscopy to the recent improvements (such as digital dermatoscopy). This paper also presents the common dermatoscopic algorithms like the ABCD rule, 3-point checklist, 7-point checklist and the Menzies method. Moreover, the challenges of dermatoscopy and the importance of training, especially in cases of clinically doubtful skin lesions are reviewed. Although dermatoscopy was originally considered as a technique in differential diagnosis of pigmented and nonpigmented skin lesions, nowadays it is also useful in the diagnosis of many other conditions (e.g. inflammatory diseases, parasytic invasions). The main aim of this report is to introduce this technique to those not yet familiar with it, because its importance for everyday practice is growing as it improves the diagnostic accuracy compared with the "naked eye". Key words: dermatoscopy, dermoscopy, epiluminescence microscopy, the ABCD rule, the 3-point checklist, the 7-point checklist, the Menzies scoring method |