Dermatologists, no matter how good they are or how much experience they have, cannot diagnose if a mole is malignant. Using a dermascope gives them an 'idea' as to whether a mole may need removing to truly know what it is. Only a biopsy can give a 100% diagnosis so that is why dermatologists either don't give any indication as to what they 'think' it might be or they sit on the fence because they can get it wrong! So don't read anything into what was said or not said!

Saying all that, it doesn't mean that having it removed definitely means it must be malignant. Most moles are found to be benign. If the mole looks particularly dodgy (an ugly duckling) it might be found to be dysplastic (aka as atypical or precancerous). When examined under the dermascope, dysplastic moles show the cells of the mole are starting to change shape (but haven't fully changed shape) so they are removed for biopsy to get a definitive diagnosis. If they weren't removed they could go on to become malignant. Approximately 15% of moles removed are found to be dysplastic whilst 10% are melanoma (over half of these have been found at an early stage & are successfully treated with no further problem). 

It is naturally a very worrying time for you both but don't jump ahead to worse case scenarios because 90% of the time it won't happen! If it does happen, there is a very good chance it's been caught early & only surgery will be necessary. Even if it's not an early stage melanoma, drug treatments now are showing great success so your husband's situation is very unlikely to be your worse case scenario. 

Try to distract yourself over the coming week (of surgery and awaiting results) and don't Google (the worst thing ever invented for fuelling fear). 

Good luck to you both and please let us know how your husband gets on,

Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient since 2009)