ABSTRACT
Nowadays, dermoscopy is considered as a mandatory step in the clinical evaluation of skin pigmented lesions. Several concordant meta-analysis proved that dermoscopy, performed by sufciently trained observers, enhances the diagnostic performances of cutaneous nevi, melanomas, pigmented basal cell carcinomas, dermatobromas, thrombotized angiomas, and seborrheic keratosis.1-5
In adults, after the publication by Ronger et al.,6 several reports have further analyzed pigmented longitudinal bands of the nail plate. Even though some doubts have been initially expressed on the real value of dermoscopy of the nail,7 many reports conclude that there is an increased accuracy of the diagnosis of nail tumors with dermoscopy compared with the naked eye and a consensus has been reached among the community of the nail melanoma specialists that dermoscopy gives interesting information in order to better determine if a nail matrix or nail-unit biopsy is needed in the case of longitudinal nail pigmentation.8-16
In children, however, nail tumors are quite rare and maybe excepted in the very peculiar setting of some genetic disorders like Gorlin-Goltz syndrome, xeroderma pigmentosum, and tuberous sclerosis. This is the reason why dermoscopy is mainly used in children in cases of melanonychia striata longitudinalis (MSL).
