I N 1985, at the Annual Meeting of the Austrian Society of Dermatology in Vienna, when giving a lecture on dermoscopy—at that time we used the term incident light microscopy—one of us (H.P.S.) was faced immediately with 2 queries: (1) Is dermoscopy really better than naked-eye examination for the diagnosis of melanoma? (2) Will dermoscopy ever be reimbursed? To answer the second question first:...

OBJECTIVES The use of dermoscopy is rapidly expanding. The dermatoscope is now used in everyday practice. We sought to investigate the use of dermoscopy by Australian dermatology trainees. METHODS An invitation to complete a web-based survey was sent via e-mail. The survey was composed of a combination of questions from a standardised survey of the International Dermoscopy Society, a previous...

A lthough the benefits of using dermoscopy as a diagnostic aid are well described, dermoscopy currently remains underutilized in the United States. According to a recent survey of US academic dermatologists, reasons cited for lack of utilization included lack of training, logistical constraints, and the belief that the procedure was not helpful. Also, some clinicians may be apprehensive about i...

BACKGROUND Dermoscopy is a technique which improves melanoma detection. Optical dermoscopy uses a handheld optical device to observe the skin lesions without recording the images. Sequential digital dermoscopy imaging (SDDI) allows storage of the pictures and their comparison over time. Few studies have compared optical dermoscopy and SDDI from an economic perspective. OBJECTIVE The present o...

BACKGROUND Solitary pink lesions in differential diagnosis with hypopigmented/amelanotic melanoma present a diagnostic challenge in daily practice and are regularly referred for second expert opinion. Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) has been shown to improve diagnostic accuracy of dermoscopically equivocal pink lesions. No studies have been performed to evaluate the effect of adding a sec...

The International Dermoscopy Society The IDS was founded in 2003 to promote clinical research in dermoscopy and to represent a clinically oriented international organization with a thrust towards helping and improving education in dermoscopy. Our membership is worldwide and currently more than 100 countries are represented, with individuals joining by direct application for free membership. Our...

Dermoscopy represents a useful technique for the diagnosis and follow-up of hair and scalp disorders. To date, little has been published regarding dermoscopy findings of hair disorders in patients of African descent. This article illustrates how dermoscopy allows fast diagnosis of hair breakage due to intrinsic factors and chemical damage in African descent patients.

BACKGROUND Dermatologists routinely use dermoscopy to improve diagnostic accuracy of skin cancers. Much less is known about its use among other physicians who routinely examine the skin, such as family physicians, internists and plastic surgeons. OBJECTIVES To document the use of dermoscopy in a sample of US physicians and to examine physician and practice characteristics associated with ever...

BACKGROUND Dermoscopy is a noninvasive technique that enables the clinician to perform direct microscopic examination of diagnostic features, not seen by the naked eye, in pigmented skin lesions. Diagnostic accuracy of dermoscopy has previously been assessed in meta-analyses including studies performed in experimental and clinical settings. OBJECTIVES To assess the diagnostic accuracy of derm...