Glowing in the Dark: Use of Confocal Microscopy in Dark Pigmented Lesions.

Reflectance confocal microscopy patterns and structures of clinically dark lesions are described. Because many of the dark lesions have melanin in superficial skin layers these lesions show great semiology by confocal. Limitations and pitfalls of reflectance confocal microscopy in clinically dark lesions are also detailed.

In Vivo and Ex Vivo Confocal Microscopy for Dermatologic and Mohs Surgeons.

Confocal microscopy is a modern imaging device that has been extensively applied in skin oncology. More specifically, for tumor margin assessment, it has been used in two modalities: reflectance mode (in vivo on skin patient) and fluorescence mode (on freshly excised specimen). Although in vivo reflectance confocal microscopy is an add-on tool for lentigo maligna mapping, fluorescence confocal microscopy is far superior for basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma margin assessment in the Mohs setting. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the use of confocal microscopy for skin cancer margin evaluation.