Hi grannyd,

I'm afraid your GP misled you that you would have to have a biopsy as not every person that is referred to dermatology needs a biopsy. 

Pre Covid a GP would refer a patient to dermatology where a consultant would examine the mole using a dermascope - this piece of kit shows any changes in cell structure. If it shows a change, the patient then has to have a biopsy as this is the only way to 100% confirm malignancy.

Post Covid, due to the backlog of referrals, a lack of dermatologists & histologists and more people becoming aware of checking their moles, most hospitals have had to set up a triage system. So most people now see Teledermy at their 2 week referral appointment. This is a department where specialist staff photograph the mole (including the cell structure) using specialist equipment and it then gets sent to a consultant dermatologist who examines the pictures. A decision is then made if the patient needs checking by the consultant & if a biopsy is necessary. This process takes a little longer than the old process but Teledermy can weed out the 'innocent' suspicious moles/lesions that a GP can't (as the naked eye isn't foolproof and most GPs aren't trained in how to use a dermascope).

I hope this helps. Good luck & I hope your mole is found to be benign. Please let us know how you get on,

Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient since 2009)

Hi grannyd,

I'm afraid your GP misled you that you would have to have a biopsy as not every person that is referred to dermatology needs a biopsy. 

Pre Covid a GP would refer a patient to dermatology where a consultant would examine the mole using a dermascope - this piece of kit shows any changes in cell structure. If it shows a change, the patient then has to have a biopsy as this is the only way to 100% confirm malignancy.

Post Covid, due to the backlog of referrals, a lack of dermatologists & histologists and more people becoming aware of checking their moles, most hospitals have had to set up a triage system. So most people now see Teledermy at their 2 week referral appointment. This is a department where specialist staff photograph the mole (including the cell structure) using specialist equipment and it then gets sent to a consultant dermatologist who examines the pictures. A decision is then made if the patient needs checking by the consultant & if a biopsy is necessary. This process takes a little longer than the old process but Teledermy can weed out the 'innocent' suspicious moles/lesions that a GP can't (as the naked eye isn't foolproof and most GPs aren't trained in how to use a dermascope).

I hope this helps. Good luck & I hope your mole is found to be benign. Please let us know how you get on,

Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient since 2009)