VIDEOMICROSCOPIC ANALYSIS OF PIGMENTED SK IN-LESIONS

During a 12-month period, 824 pigmented skin lesions were examined, an d the clinical, videomicroscopic and histological diagnoses were compa red. Patients with skin lesions that were difficult to assess were rec ruited from the outpatient clinic of the department of dermatology wit hin the Technical University of Munich. The study reveals that videomi croscopy as a variation of epiluminescence microscopy much improves di agnostic accuracy, especially of early malignant melanoma, but also wi th regard to the differentiation between melanocytic and nonmelanocyti c lesions, is achieved. Furthermore, patients with a high relative ris k of developing malignant melanoma, such as patients with multiple nae vi, can be scheduled for thorough microscopical controls. The possibil ity of uncomplicated photographic documentation of a large number of n aevi after excision of the suspicious lesions allows valuable periodic follow-ups with macroscopical and microscopical comparison.