Hi,

I recently (about 6 weeks ago) noticed a light longitudinal band on my right middle finger about 2mm wide. It was uniform with no uneven or different edges and no pain or Hutchinson sign.

I googled it and the obvious subungual melanoma possibilities were returned. I booked in to see my GP who looked at it under a dermatoscope and felt that it wasn't showing any signs of melanoma. He asked me to take a photo of it which he shared with a dermatologist who came back saying that they thought it was a benign longitudinal melanonychia. They asked me to keep and eye on it and to come back for a follow up appointment in 3 months.

I wasn't satisfied with that answer so sort a second opinion privately with a dermatologist who again examined it under a dermatoscope. He came to the same conclusion but said if I wanted peace of mind to have a biopsy.

I elected to have the biopsy which was done 2 weeks ago and I am now awaiting the results.

The issue I have hear is that I'm not sure the right type of biopsy was done having read various online sources. He performed a nail punch biopsy very close to the proximal nail fold but did not fold it back as he said this was unnecessary as he could sample the nail matrix without this.

Everything I have read runs contrary to that. I'm not a dermatologist and no expert so at the time was happy to go with his assessment. However now I'm worried that the biopsy is not going to be worth the paper it's written on and I'll have to go through the whole process again.

Can anyone help with some expert advice on this. Am I worrying about nothing?

Thanks