Dermatopathology

Dermatopathology is the microscopic examination of the skin from skin biopsy specimens. The most efficient and effective therapy for your skin condition is dependent on accurate and efficient diagnosis of your skin lesion. When a patient sees a Physician for evaluation of a skin lesion suspicious for a skin cancer or has a rash that has an unusual presentation or is unresponsive to treatment, the Physician will likely perform a skin biopsy to further analyze the lesion in question. While many patients are familiar with this process, what most patients don’t realize is that often the skin biopsy specimen is NOT evaluated by a Pathologist who specializes in diagnosing conditions of the skin or a Dermatopathologist.

At Westgate Dermatology and Laser Center, P.A. all of our skin biopsy specimens are evaluated by our Board Certified Dermatopathologist, Dr. Paul Kostuchenko. Dr. Kostuchenko received his Dermatopathology fellowship training at Wake Forest University, Baptist Medical Center after completing his residency training in Dermatology. He has had extensive training and experience in all aspects of Dermatopathology.

In addition, Westgate Dermatology and Laser Center, P.A. is unique in that our Providers can communicate directly with our Dermatopathologist at the time that the biopsy is obtained to correlate the clinical presentation of the patient’s condition with the findings observed under the microscope. This often leads to more complete evaluation of the patient’s overall condition and helps to efficiently direct therapy.

Dr. Kostuchenko also evaluates skin pathology specimens for clients from other medical practices. If you are a Medical Professional interested in contacting Dr. Kostuchenko to see how we can better serve your Dermatopathology needs, please feel free to contact our lab at (336) 714-9058, or send us an email at [email protected].