Many people sometimes suspect the nature of their moles. After all, who knows, maybe in a few days it will begin to grow. And this is a symptom of a possible melanoma or any other malignant neoplasm of the skin. And what to do in a situation where you need to decide something? Naturally, undergo a procedure such as dermatoscopy. What kind of examination is this? How much will it cost? Are there any contraindications? Let's get it right.
What kind of examination is this?
It is time to learn all about this type of diagnosis, like dermatoscopy. What it is? This is an examination of skin tumors for malignancy using a special device with the corresponding name - a dermatoscope. This study is very simple. It takes only a few minutes - and the doctor will be able to examine in detail the structure and other characteristics of a dubious education. A very comfortable examination is dermatoscopy. The price for it is also quite small - an average of about 1000 rubles. It all depends on the particular clinic.
In what cases is it required?
Dermatoscopy of the skin is a very important examination if:
- New moles appeared. The fact is that potentially it can be metastases. Naturally, not a fact. Quite a lot of people walk with a lot of moles. And nothing happens to them. But in any case, if it seems to you that everything is wrong, this is an occasion to immediately consult a doctor. Because oncological diseases are extremely dangerous and difficult to treat. It is better not to take risks and be examined on time, so that in the future you do not have to spend a lot of money on expensive and long-term treatment.
- Old moles began to rapidly increase in size or acquire a heterogeneous structure. Not always an ordinary mole remains so throughout life. Another development of the situation is quite possible. And then the part of our body becomes our enemy. Stupid enough, I must say. After all, it turns out that by killing us, he does this with himself. But we do not need these metaphors. Just if you see a change in the shape, color or size of a mole is a bad sign.
- In the area of the mole, itching, pain and other unpleasant sensations have recently appeared. Not always cancer is accompanied by painful sensations. He may be a silent killer. But if a mole hurts, this is really an occasion to undergo this procedure. God saves man, who save himself.
- If the mole was injured. It often happens that when we injure a mole, it begins to produce a huge number of cancer cells. You need not risk it, but immediately go to the doctor to clarify the situation after the injury. In this case, you should not waste time.
- New moles are constantly appearing on your body, although their number already exceeds 50.
- If you want to remove a mole. Before you decide to remove an ugly mole, you should think about it. Perhaps the removal will trigger in the body the mechanism of nucleation of a malignant tumor. To prevent this, you can undergo dermatoscopy. Only doctors can remove such formations.
If at least one of these points concerns you, then mole dermatoscopy should be performed by you without fail. Moreover, this examination is very simple.
Are there any contraindications?
This examination has no contraindications. This further emphasizes its simplicity and effectiveness. It is rare to find an examination that is suitable for each patient. But really there are no contraindications for such a procedure as dermatoscopy. What is it, we examined above. The universality of the procedure is especially relevant in the case of moles, which, with the slightest negative impact, can degenerate into malignant ones.
Procedure for completing this examination
What does a doctor need to do in order for a dermatoscopy of neoplasms to be performed? What do you need to do? What actions should be taken? The procedure for this examination is very simple:
- The doctor speaks with the patient and interviews him for symptoms, complaints, the time of their occurrence, and so on. This stage is necessary to put forward a hypothesis regarding the disease. Also, the examination itself is preceded by a direct examination by a doctor of this mole.
- After that, the doctor smears a mole or other formation on the skin with a special gel or ointment. The purpose of this action is very simple - to prevent light reflection on the surface of the mole.
- Then the dermatologist takes a special device called a dermatoscope. This is actually a small microscope to which you can also connect a camera. Through a dermatoscope, you can see the mole directly, and the camera allows you to take pictures and view them on a computer at an additional magnification.
- Actually, this is what the doctor does after the picture was taken. A huge number of indicators are checked: the structure of the mole, its color, the uniformity of distribution on the skin, its edges are even or not. That is how dermatoscopy is performed. What does it give? The accuracy of determining oncology during such a procedure is up to 96%.
This is truly an incredible figure. No other examination is so simple and effective. All this makes dermatoscopy an excellent substitute for biopsy, which involves the collection of mole cells for analysis. It was not only quite dangerous (a mole is injured), but also painful. But now it is already in the past.
What is the innovativeness of the method?
This method in itself is innovative. And there are a lot of reasons for this. First of all, it is the fact that the mere fact of a portable microscope with a special light bulb is already an innovation. In addition, this method provides the highest accuracy with extreme ease of implementation, which once again confirms the thesis "Everything ingenious is simple."
conclusions
We figured out what dermatoscopy is, in which cases this examination should be used, and also sorted out the procedure itself. Now you do not need to be afraid before going to the doctor. After all, a visit has never been so comfortable and safe.