Ask the expert: should I get mole mapping done?

I am 55-year-old Irish male and have been in the UAE for over 15 years. I’ve got a lot of moles on my body. I enjoy outdoor sports and some friends suggested that I get mole mappings done. What is mole mapping?

In the first step, the patient undergoes a whole body clinical examination by a specialist dermatologist who marks the prominent or clinically atypical moles that are to be mapped.

Based on the above scales or grades, necessary treatment decisions are made.

I recommend an immediate excision/biopsy of scale 3+ moles. Sometimes, it’s also recommended that a couple of scale 2 moles that are relatively more atypical are removed to further minimise the risk.

In addition to the significant diagnostic support that mole mappings offer, they also provide a baseline recorded status of patients’ moles. On subsequent follow-up checks any newly emerging suspicion on previously mapped moles can easily be verified by performing comparative mole mappings. If the comparative findings show alarming changes to the baseline records, excision or biopsy of such moles are considered.