Melanoma and Pigmented Lesion

Risk Factors for Melanoma

Melanoma is a serious and potentially life-threatening form of skin cancer that is treatable and often curable if diagnosed in the early stages. Melanoma can affect anyone, but certain individuals are at greater risk for getting this form of skin cancer.

Multidisciplinary Approach to Diagnosing and Treating Melanoma

Penn Dermatology's Pigmented Lesion Group, in conjunction with Penn physicians at the Abramson Cancer Center, was the first dermatology program in the country to offer a multidisciplinary approach to diagnosing, treating and preventing melanoma. Patients undergoing treatment for melanoma at Penn have the added advantage of working with a team of Penn specialists in dermatology, medical and surgical oncology, plastic surgery, pathology and dermatopathology. The program also offers whole body photography to document and track skin changes.

Nearly all patients in the clinic are referred by Penn dermatologists or outside referring dermatologists and physicians in the Philadelphia region.

Whole Body Photography

Whole body photography documents the skin through a series of photographs taken every five to seven years. This service is available to patients seen in the Pigmented Lesion Group to document and establish mole patterns and changes over time.

Whole body photography is also available to patients who do not have a melanoma diagnosis but want full body photography for skin cancer surveillance exams.

3D 360° Whole Body Photography

3D 360° whole body photography is possible through an open imaging device that simultaneously uses 92 cameras to capture, within seconds, multiple images of the body.

A single avatar is constructed that results in a three-dimensional (3D) image of the surface of the body.

Using integrated software, pigmented and other lesions can be tagged for further analysis and to monitor their evolution overtime. The software also provides the ability to link dermoscopy images to the tagged lesions and any dermoscopic images taken at follow-up visits can be compared side by side to monitor for changes.

These high-resolution images are stored on a secure server so that they are accessible at your follow-up visits.

Benefits of 3D 360° Whole-body Photography

3D 360° whole-body photography helps enhance the accuracy, efficiency, and quality of dermatological care. Compared to traditional 2Dphotography, in addition to streamlining the photography process, 3D 360° whole-body photography delivers a more comprehensive skin surface representation, precise measurements, and provides better tracking mechanisms.

3D 360° whole-body photography may provide several additional benefits to patients including:

• Early Detection: With the help of this advanced technology, our team can identify subtle changes and detect the presence of a developing skin condition that may not be evident to the human eye alone, resulting in early detection.
• Accurate and Personalized Treatment Plans: Allows our team to analyze several features such as texture, size, color, and pigmentation in greater detail. This enables them to evaluate skin conditions with greater accuracy and confidence when developing a personalized treatment plan for each patient.
• Minimize Additional Invasive Procedures: Coupled with dermoscopy, makes it easier for our team to assess the characteristics and structure of skin lesions, allowing them to make informed decisions about the need for invasive procedures such as skin biopsies.
• Alleviate Anxiety and Minimize Discomfort: Rather than repositioning multiple times and posing for a series of 2D photographs, one 3D 360° photography session captures almost the entire skin surface in seconds, which can help put the patient at ease.

To refer your patient for this service, please place the referral through our Rapid Referral Portal