title: The role of imaging in the prevention of wrong-site surgery in dermatology.
abstract: Wrong-site surgery in dermatology often results from inaccurate identification of a skin cancer biopsy site. Factors making biopsy-site identification difficult include background actinic damage, delays from biopsy to surgery, and lack of photographic documentation. While other methods exist for biopsy-site identification, photography is the most helpful tool available. Although modern technology has made high-quality photographic equipment ubiquitous and easy to use, photography for biopsy-site identification continues to be underutilized. The authors recommend that photographic documentation of biopsy sites become the standard of care.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Harker
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Todd
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mollet
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Divya
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Srivastava
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.|Skin Surgery and Oncology Clinic, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA. rajiv.nijhawan@UTSouthwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Rajiv I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Nijhawan
mesh_terms: D062109:Dermatologic Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D003880:Dermatology / Q000379:methods*; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
keywords: Mohs surgery; biopsy; imaging; photography