Diagnosis and Treatment of Pigmented Nevi

THERE is still considerable difference of opinion between dermatologists, on the one hand, and surgeons and oncologists, on the other, relative to the treatment of pigmented nevi, or moles, as they are commonly called. The dermatologist's aid is enlisted more frequently for the cosmetic treatment; less frequently is his opinion sought relative to the significance of a lesion which has enlarged, has ulcerated or has become darker. Thousands of pigmented moles are treated daily for purely cosmetic reasons, with results that are permanently satisfactory to the patient. The surgeon and the oncologist, on the other hand, are consulted most frequently for the treatment of tumors which have supposedly originated in pigmented moles and which have not responded to therapeutic measures carried out by the general practitioner or, perhaps occasionally, by the dermatologist. The criteria for the diagnosis of a pigmented nevus include primarily the presence of nevus