{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T01:58:00Z","timestamp":1760147880039,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,8]],"date-time":"2023-03-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1678233600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Malignant melanoma is a cutaneous malignancy resulting from the uncontrolled proliferation of melanocytes and poses a challenge diagnostically because neoplastic lesions can mimic benign lesions, which are much more common in the population. Doctors, when they suspect the presence of melanoma, arrange for its removal and the performance of a histological examination to ascertain its diagnosis; in cases where the dermatoscopic examination is indicative of benignity, however, after the lesion is removed, histological examination is not always performed, a very dangerous occurrence and a harbinger of further medico-legal problems. The authors present a court litigation case of an \u201calleged\u201d failure to diagnose malignant melanoma in a patient who died of brain metastases from melanoma in the absence of a certain location of the primary tumor: the physician who had removed a benign lesion a few months earlier was sued, and only thanks to the presence of photographic documentation was the health care provider able to prove his extraneousness. The aim of this paper is to formulate a proposal for a dermatological protocol to be followed in cases of excisions of benign skin lesions with a twofold purpose: on the one hand, to be able to prove, in a judicial context, the right action on the part of the sanitarians; on the other hand, to avoid the rise of so-called \u201cdefensive medicine\u201d.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics13061033","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,9]],"date-time":"2023-03-09T01:35:37Z","timestamp":1678325737000},"page":"1033","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Photography as the Sole Means of Proof: Medical Liability in Dermatology"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1058-7269","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maricla","family":"Marrone","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Legal Medicine, Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine (DIM), University of Bari \u201cAldo Moro\u201d, 70124 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Cristina","family":"Caterino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Legal Medicine, Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine (DIM), University of Bari \u201cAldo Moro\u201d, 70124 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gianluca","family":"Musci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Legal Medicine, Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine (DIM), University of Bari \u201cAldo Moro\u201d, 70124 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0325-4316","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gerardo","family":"Cazzato","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Molecular Pathology, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), University of Bari \u201cAldo Moro\u201d, 70124 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4792-3545","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giuseppe","family":"Ingravallo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Molecular Pathology, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), University of Bari \u201cAldo Moro\u201d, 70124 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3287-7299","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carmelo","family":"Lupo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Innovation Department, Diapath S.p.A., Via Savoldini n.71, 24057 Martinengo, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4861-0727","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nadia","family":"Casatta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Innovation Department, Diapath S.p.A., Via Savoldini n.71, 24057 Martinengo, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7397-0097","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessandra","family":"Stellacci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Legal Medicine, Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine (DIM), University of Bari \u201cAldo Moro\u201d, 70124 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Andrea","family":"Armenio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Plastic Surgery Department, IRCCS Istituto Tumori \u201cGiovanni Paolo II\u201d, V.le O. Flacco, 65, 70124 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Bourdieu, P. (1990). Photography: A Middle-Brow Art, Stanford University Press."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.3109\/17453059409018372","article-title":"Photography in forensic medicine","volume":"17","author":"Henham","year":"1994","journal-title":"J. Audiov. Media Med."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7","DOI":"10.14740\/wjon1349","article-title":"Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma: A Review of Early Diagnosis and Management","volume":"12","author":"Naik","year":"2021","journal-title":"World J. 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Rep."}],"container-title":["Diagnostics"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2075-4418\/13\/6\/1033\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T18:51:02Z","timestamp":1760122262000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2075-4418\/13\/6\/1033"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,8]]},"references-count":22,"journal-issue":{"issue":"6","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,3]]}},"alternative-id":["diagnostics13061033"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/diagnostics13061033","relation":{},"ISSN":["2075-4418"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"2075-4418"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,8]]}}}