Many people sometimes have suspicions about the nature of their moles. After all, who knows, maybe in a few days it will begin to grow. And this is already a symptom of a possible melanoma or any other malignant neoplasm of the skin. And what to do in a situation when you need to decide something? Naturally, undergo a procedure such as dermatoscopy. What is this examination? How much will it cost? Are there any contraindications? Let's figure it out.
What is this examination?
It's time to learn everything about this type of diagnostics as dermatoscopy. What it is? This is an examination of skin neoplasms for malignancy using a special device with the appropriate 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 formation. Very comfortableexamination is dermatoscopy. The price for it is also quite small - an average of about 1000 rubles. It all depends on the particular clinic.
When is it required?
Skin dermatoscopy is a very important examination if:
- There are new moles. The matter is that potentially it can be metastasises. 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 get examined on time so that in the future you do not have to spend a lot of money on expensive and lengthy treatment.
- Old moles began to rapidly increase in size or acquire a heterogeneous structure. Not always an ordinary mole remains so throughout life. It is quite possible that the situation will develop differently. And then the part of our body becomes our enemy. Pretty stupid, I must say. After all, it turns out that by killing us, he does it to himself. But we don't need these metaphors. It's just that if you see a change in the shape, color or size of a mole, this is a bad sign.
- Itching, pain and other unpleasant sensations have recently appeared in the mole area. Not always cancer is accompanied by painful sensations. He can also be a silent killer. But if the mole hurts, this is really a reason to undergo this procedure. God saves the safe.
- If the mole was injured. It often happens that when we injure a mole, it begins to produce a huge amount of cancer cells. It is necessary not to take risks, but immediately go to the doctor to clarify the situation after the injury. In this case, there is no time to waste.
- Your body has more than 50 moles all the time.
- If you want to remove a mole. Before you decide to remove an ugly mole, you should think about it. It is possible that the removal will trigger the mechanism of the onset of a malignant tumor in the body. To prevent this, you can undergo dermatoscopy. Only doctors are involved in the removal of such formations.
If at least one of these points concerns you, then dermatoscopy of moles should be mandatory for you. Moreover, this examination is very simple.
Are there any contraindications?
There are no contraindications for this examination. This further emphasizes its simplicity and effectiveness. It is rare to find a test that suits every patient. But there really are no contraindications for such a procedure as dermatoscopy. What is it, we discussed above. The versatility of the procedure is especially relevant in the case of moles, which, with the slightest negative impact, can degenerate into malignant ones.
Procedure for performing this examination
What does a doctor need to do in order to perform dermatoscopy of neoplasms?What do you need to do? What actions need to be taken? The procedure for this examination is very simple:
- The doctor talks to the patient and asks him about 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 the mole or other formation on the skin with a special gel or ointment. The purpose of this action is very simple - to prevent the surface of the mole from reflecting light.
- Next, the dermatologist takes a special device called a dermatoscope. This is actually a small microscope, which can also be connected to a camera. Through a dermatoscope, you can look at the mole directly, and the camera allows you to take pictures and view them on a computer under additional magnification.
- Actually, this is what the doctor does after the picture has been taken. A huge number of indicators are checked: the structure of the mole, its color, the uniformity of distribution on the skin, whether its edges are even or not. This is how dermatoscopy works. What does it give? The accuracy of determining oncology during such a procedure is up to 96%.
This is truly an incredible number. No other examination is so simple and effective. All this makes dermatoscopy an excellent substitute for a biopsy, which involves the collection of mole cells for analysis. It was not only dangerous enough (the mole is injured), but also painful. But that's in the past now.
What isinnovative method?
This method itself is innovative. And there are a huge number of reasons for this. First of all, this is the fact that the very 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 what cases this examination should be used, and also analyzed the very procedure for its implementation. Now you do not need to be afraid before going to the doctor. After all, a visit has never been so comfortable and safe.
