Melanoma is a most fatal disease and outcomes of this condition are largely dependent on how early it has been diagnosed. One way to make sure it can be diagnosed early before any chances of metastasis is through total body photography (TBP) and close monitoring for all existing moles especially high-risk moles such as dysplastic naevi. TBP is a series of multiple high resolution digital photographs that are taken from head to toe of the patient's skin and stored on a CD and computer. More importantly dermoscopic pictures of high-risk moles are taken and labelled for close monitoring. These records are used as a baseline, which allows your doctor to track changes over time in existing mole and also to check for the presence of new moles. Any changes to existing moles and the presence of new moles are important information to determine if a biopsy of these moles is necessary. It is not uncommon that these changes of moles can be very subtle and without a close monitoring program they can be easily overlooked by any doctor. Following is an example of a mole that has undergone changes in a short period of time:
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