Mole Screening

Professional mole screening and skin cancer diagnostics

Mole Screening & Dermatology Service

We offer professional mole screening and skin lesion assessment at Forever Facial Aesthetics in Ashtead, Surrey. Our experienced practitioners use dermatoscopy tools to photograph and examine moles and skin lesions, identifying any changes or characteristics that may require further investigation by onward referral to a community dermatology service. Early detection is key to the effective management of skin concerns, including identifying cancerous and non-cancerous lesions.

Mole Mapping Service

At Forever Facial Aesthetics, we offer in-house dermatoscopy and use a dermatologist-led screening and review service to check suspicious moles and skin lesions for potential skin cancers.

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If you have moles, marks, and blemishes on your skin which have appeared rapidly or begun to change shape, size, or colour, it’s vital to have them mapped using a dermatoscope for close-up photography and medical assessment. Using dermatoscopy improves the accuracy of mole screening and early skin cancer detection.

What is a dermatoscope?

Dermatoscopy, also called dermoscopy, refers to a combination of the words dermis, meaning skin, and microscope. A dermatoscope is a handheld medical device used to examine moles and other skin lesions in much greater detail than the naked eye can focus. It combines magnification with a specialised light source, which we can attach to a smartphone to view on the screen and to take photographs swiftly.

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The images are referred to a team of dermatologists who can use them to assess patterns, colours and structures beneath the skin surface and provide a diagnostic report.

Why is mole screening important?

In mole screening and skin cancer assessments, dermatoscopy can help identify suspicious changes linked to cancerous conditions such as melanoma, basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, often supporting earlier diagnosis and quick referral for treatment.

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It cannot give a formal diagnosis of skin cancer because that requires a biopsy and a histological assessment, but the use of close-up photography using the dermatoscope allows dermatology experts to identify a suspicious lesion and recommend rapid further investigation. According to Cancer Research UK, melanoma skin cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the UK, but it has a very high survival rate if caught early.

Mole screening facial skin assessment
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Expert Care

Expert Care

Our experienced team provides a professional mole screening service in a safe, clinical environment at Forever Facial Aesthetics in Ashtead, Surrey. Using state-of-the-art dermatoscopy imaging equipment and a well-respected dermatology assessment service, we will ensure that suspicious lesions and moles are properly evaluated for skin cancer. Follow-up care and referral are available post-results through our clinical team.

Specialist Follow-up

Specialist Follow-up

Using our specialist mole screening service avoids delays in diagnosing potential skin cancers. Early intervention, reporting, and a follow-up appointment with our clinical team ensure we can refer you for the most appropriate intervention with dermatological care if the screening process reveals troubling results. We use leading dermatoscopy equipment and services to give you peace of mind and aid early detection.

Tailored Treatment

Tailored Treatment

We focus on avoiding the delays in primary healthcare to deliver screening and diagnostic results that detect the early signs of skin cancer in moles, dark spots, and other skin lesions. All mole screening with a dermatoscope requires a full consultation and appointment with our skin specialist, senior medical aesthetician or one of our medical practitioners to ensure we provide appropriate care and medical support.

Your Safety

Your Safety

Mole screening is an important safety check for the early detection of skin cancers. Our multidisciplinary medical and specialist skin aesthetician team are all trained in identifying suspicious skin lesions. They will always recommend a full assessment by our mole screening dermatology service, using dermatoscopy images. Results are confidential and can be followed up with an appointment through our clinical team.

What to Expect During Your Treatment

Consultation

Your mole screening journey at Forever Facial Aesthetics begins with a consultation with our senior medical aesthetician, trained in triaging skin lesions for dermatology concerns. They will assess your skin for lesions and moles, discuss your concerns, and recommend which moles or brown spots should be screened and assessed by a dermatologist.

All our practitioners have undergone training in identifying suspicious skin lesions; where necessary, our multidisciplinary team, including medical doctors and nurse practitioners, is also available to input into mole screening recommendations.

Treatment

The magnifying dermatoscope device is attached to a smartphone to allow us to take close-up photographic images of any concerning moles.

Your initial consultation fee includes imaging and dermatologist referral of up to three moles. There will be an additional small charge on top for screening extra moles. Our practitioner is fully trained in the use of the dermatoscope and will ensure the quality of the imaging before forwarding it to the dermatology service.

Results

Following assessment of your mole screening images, the dermatology service will return a report for review. Follow-up appointments are available to discuss the report’s findings, if they identify any problems, with recommendations for appropriate dermatology referral, where required for further investigation, biopsy, and treatment.

Are you a Candidate?

Suitability for mole screening will be determined during a thorough skin consultation and assessment with our skin specialist practitioners. If you have new or old moles that are causing you concern, and you are over 40 years old, we recommend getting them checked. If you have moles that have become suspicious because they have changed shape, increased in size, or changed colour, have started to itch, crust, or bleed and become very irritated, you are advised to get them screened for early detection of any potential cancerous lesions, such as melanoma. Most moles are harmless, but it is important to screen them if they begin to change in any way.

Mole screening stages

The mole screening service is designed to be swift and thorough, giving you peace of mind about any concerning skin lesions and moles.

Step 1: Consultation and skin assessment

You will attend the clinic for a consultation and assessment with our senior medical aesthetician, who will review any moles that concern you. They will ask you various questions about the mole, including any changes you have experienced.

Step 2: Dermatoscope imaging

The practitioner will use a medical-grade dermatoscope attached to a smartphone to capture high-quality, close-up images of the mole or lesion. They will also take standard view photographs to show the lesion’s location on the face or body, to assist the dermatologist reviewing your case.

Step 3: Submission of the images

Your case is submitted to a trusted dermatology community-led referral service after completion of a digital questionnaire, where details from your consultation, including your personal information, medical history, and explanation of the changes in the mole, are supplied. The dermatoscope images and other photographs are uploaded to a secure server for specialist review.

Step 4: Consultant Dermatologist review

A UK consultant dermatologist reviews the submitted images remotely. The dermatologist analyses dermoscopic structures and visible skin patterns to assess whether the mole or lesion appears benign, requires monitoring, or may need urgent medical investigation, including biopsy recommendation and histological screening for cancerous cells.

Step 5: Report generation

The dermatologist produces a written digital report, which is sent directly to us, usually very quickly. It explains their findings and outlines their recommendations.

Step 6: Follow-up and referral if required

If the lesion appears suspicious and could indicate skin cancer or requires further assessment, such as via biopsy, the report will advise us to call you in for a follow-up appointment to discuss it and raise an urgent referral to a dermatologist. If monitoring is required, this can also be discussed and planned for during a follow-up appointment. The dermatologist mole screening service does not diagnose skin cancer definitively or replace biopsy testing. It functions as a rapid screening and triage system to help you and our multidisciplinary team identify moles and skin lesions that may require further investigation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to Your Questions, All in One Place.

Dermatology review of mole screening images

Moles are generally harmless, and it is very common to have them on your skin, anywhere on your face and body. Some moles develop in childhood and adolescence, or are even present at birth, and over time, some will also fade with age. Moles can darken during pregnancy, causing an increased appearance of freckles or brown patches on the face called melasma.

Moles are usually small, brown-coloured spots or marks on the skin, made up of pigment-producing cells called melanocytes. They tend to be darker on darker skin tones, vary in shape, usually oval or round with a smooth edge, either flat or raised, and can feel rough or smooth, and some may have hairs growing through them.

Moles can be cosmetically displeasing and sometimes get in the way, depending on their location, such as moles on the neck or shoulders that catch on necklaces, bra straps and clothes, or over-the-shoulder bags.

A mole may become suspicious if it changes in size, shape, colour, or texture, starts itching, bleeding, or crusting, or develops an uneven border.

A useful guide for monitoring suspicious moles used by dermatologists is the ABCDE rule:

  • Asymmetry
  • Border irregularity
  • Colour variation
  • Diameter over 6 mm
  • Evolving changes

If you have moles that seem to have changed in any way, our simple mole screening service is a great way to get them checked for early signs of skin cancer. Early detection can lead to more positive outcomes.

Moles can become cancerous when the DNA in skin cells becomes damaged, often due to ultraviolet exposure from sunlight or sunbeds. Over many years, this damage can cause cells to grow uncontrollably and abnormally, leading to melanoma or other forms of skin cancer, like basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.

The mole screening service at Forever Facial Aesthetics in Ashtead, Surrey, uses dermatoscopy, or magnified imaging, and a professional skin assessment by a dermatologist to check moles for signs of skin cancer.

Dermatoscopy is a recognised medical screening technique for dermatological concerns. Our practitioner uses a special magnifying device, called a dermatoscope, attached to a smartphone, to examine structures beneath the skin surface that are not visible to the naked eye. These images appear on the smartphone screen, and photographs are saved for detailed assessment by an expert dermatologist.

The mole screening service we provide is a leading medical solution that captures accurate images of your moles, which can be reviewed directly by expert dermatologists, who will report on any suspicious lesions that require further investigation by biopsy and histological analysis.

Although we use a dermatoscope attached to a smartphone to capture images and data, the assessment does not rely on automated apps or artificial intelligence to establish the results of your screening; a human dermatologist will conduct all diagnoses and reporting.

The screening service does not definitively diagnose skin cancers, but it does provide a credible triaging option to quickly identify moles that may be showing the early signs of skin cancer. Armed with a dermatologist’s report, we can swiftly address your treatment needs, further follow-up and investigation, including direct referral to primary care or private dermatology services.

The dermatologist-led assessment service we use is aligned with the British Association of Dermatologists teledermatology guidelines.

Take The Next Step

At Forever Facial Aesthetics, our goal is to help you look and feel your best. Contact us today to schedule your consultation and embark on your journey to a more youthful appearance.

Forever Facial Aesthetics

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Our professional team is at your disposal to schedule a private consultation. Every enquiry is handled with the utmost discretion.

Location

68 A, The Street,
Ashtead,
Surrey,
KT21 1AW

Contact

01372 678611

Email

info@foreverfacialaesthetics.co.uk

Hours of operation

Monday: 9:30 AM–6 PM
Tuesday: 9:30 AM–8 PM
Wednesday: 9:30 AM–8 PM
Thursday: 9:30 AM–8 PM
Friday: 9:30 AM–6 PM
Saturday: 9 AM–5 PM
Sunday: Closed