I am a board-certified internist and dermatologist with special expertise in skin cancer — especially melanoma. Much of my clinical career has focused on the early detection and management of melanoma in high-risk individuals. To improve the early detection of melanoma, I have pioneered the use of whole-body photography to assist in the detection of changing moles in patients with dysplastic nevi (large, irregular colored or shaped moles). We have established a fully computerized digital imaging system at Memoiral Sloan-Kettering to monitor moles in patients who have dysplastic nevi or a personal history of melanoma. The program creates a baseline digital photographic record of the patient's moles. When the patient returns for follow-up appointments, new and changing moles can be identified, enabling subtle melanomas to be recognized at a stage when they are easily cured. The system also reduces the need to excise stable moles and moles erroneously perceived by the patient to have changed.
