Derm Dotting: A New Technique That Improves Diagnostic Precision in the Evaluation of Skin Lesions

Dermoscopy has improved diagnostic precision in the clinical evaluation of complex skin lesions by helping to pinpoint small clinically suspicious areas that are not visible to the naked eye but require histopathologic examination. Derm dotting is a new technique for selectively marking areas of interest to ensure they are examined under a microscope. Left unmarked, suspicious areas might not appear in routinely prepared cross sections or might be difficult to correlate with dermoscopic images. In vivo or ex vivo derm dotting involves the application of nail polish, which, unlike stains, leaves tissues unaltered. Dots can be placed by the dermatologist or laboratory staff during macroscopic preparation of the sample. Derm dotting is a simple, inexpensive technique that any dermatopathology laboratory can quickly adopt to improve diagnostic precision through better dermoscopic-histologic correlation.