Ultrasonography in dermatologic surgery: revealing the unseen for improved surgical planning

Abstract

Ultrasonography (US) is a modern, in vivo imaging method, which is increasingly being used in dermatology as a complementary tool to clinical examination and dermoscopy. At higher frequencies (15 MHz and above), US is an established method for assessing benign and malignant skin lesions, locoregional staging, monitoring the therapeutic efficacy in various inflammatory skin conditions, and patient follow-up. One field, which may increasingly benefit from performant imaging techniques such as US is dermatologic surgery. Preoperative imaging of cutaneous tumors, inflammatory skin conditions (hidradenitis suppurativa, abscesses, etc.), or nail pathology provide dermatologic surgeons with relevant information for an optimal surgical planning, identifying potential complex aspects which might require interdisciplinary approaches, herein sparing unnecessary surgical interventions and increasing patients' compliance. In this review, we discuss the increasing significance of US in the field of dermatologic surgery, as well as the spectrum of cutaneous pathology where sonography can aid in the preoperative setting to provide a more precise, individualized surgical planning for better counseling to our patients and improved surgical results.