Dermatopathology
What does this specialty do?
Dermatopathology is the medical subspecialty responsible for the microscopic diagnosis of skin diseases. It acts as a crucial bridge between clinical dermatology and pathology, allowing for the correlation of clinical findings with detailed tissue analysis.
Through the study of skin biopsies, the dermatopathologist identifies the cellular and structural characteristics of each lesion, providing a definitive diagnosis that guides treatment and establishes the patient's prognosis.
Diseases it treats
Dermatopathology is the gold standard for the diagnosis and accurate classification of many skin diseases, including:
- Skin cancer: melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and other malignant tumors.
- Pigmented lesions: differentiation between benign nevi and atypical or malignant lesions.
- Inflammatory diseases: psoriasis, lichen planus, lupus erythematosus, dermatitis, and vasculitis.
- Bullous diseases: pemphigus, pemphigoid and other autoimmune diseases.
- Alopecia: scalp biopsy study to determine the cause of hair loss.
- Skin infections: identification of fungi, bacteria or viruses in the tissue.
- Soft tissue and adnexal tumors: lesions originating in hair follicles, glands, and other skin structures.
Procedures and treatments
The Dermatopathology service uses specialized techniques for accurate diagnosis:
- Routine histopathological analysis: Microscopic study of the biopsy stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E).
- Immunohistochemistry: Use of specific antibodies to identify cellular proteins, key in tumor classification.
- Direct immunofluorescence: essential technique for the diagnosis of autoimmune blistering diseases.
- Special stains: Complementary methods to highlight specific structures or detect microorganisms, such as PAS staining and Ziehl-Neelsen staining.
Diagnostic focus areas
The service focuses its expertise on:
- Pathology of melanocytic and non-melanocytic skin tumors.
- Diagnosis of inflammatory skin diseases.
- Direct immunofluorescence for bullous diseases.
- Scalp biopsy study (trichopathology).
- Pathology of skin infections.
Contact
Call us: (+57) 602 331 9090
