I have left this a little late and have being doing some searches both on the forums news plus on the patient forum.
My appointment is in 15 hours with the oral surgeon (Otolaryngology) as a follow up to the laser biopsies I had in January.
I have had a few biopsies since my major operation and these were cut and stitch but the laser biopsy was a particularly painful recovery.
So my question is if another biopsy is required is it feasible to ask for a Velscope check instead?
A search on Velscope in both areas brings up a lot of information.
In other words should I bring it up with the surgeon? I have checked and there are a few dental clinics that use it here in Australia.

Below are some of the findings from January�s biopsies;

1. Right anterior tongue :
HYPERKERATOSIS WTH FOCALLY MILD EPTHTHELIAL DYSPLASIA.
2. Right anterior pillar :
HYPERKERATOSIS WITH MLD TO MODERATE EPITHELIAL DYSPLASIA.

Below are just some of the terms mentioned in the report;

Luminal ductal epithelium and abluminal myoepithelial cells ---comprising lymphocytes and histiocytes---- acanthosis, papillomatosis and orthokeratosis with a prominent granular cell layer in areas---- stratified squamous epithelium

Looking forward to any input from my family here and besides a few minor issues am feeling fine

Thanks Gabriele

Hi Gabs!

A VELScope is going highlight any dysplastic areas within the UV light's field giving the operator a way to track and reference dysplasia as it has a dated camera system on it. The VELScope gives the medical professional a better view of the entire dysplastic area not necessarily seen by the naked eye which is why some programs are using it to for better surgical margins, as well as areas to biopsy.

In Dr. Edmund Truelove's lecture (he was the head of the University of Washington's school of Oral Medicine he's used a VELScope in his research) he's shown where Oral Medical specialist trained to spot cancer only could visibly catch it around 60% of the time, where with a VELScope caught it 100%. Remember a biopsy depends on getting a sample of the cancerous tissue to pathology and if the Dr doing the biopsy samples a dysplastic area that's yet to turn malignant it will come back negative, which is why the VELScope is a useful diagnostic tool, as well as a surgical tool for better margins.

Hope that helps. As a disclaimer I am good friends with the product managers at VELScope and I have been approached to lecture to focus groups on their behalf, however to date I've not done so, nor am I on their payroll. I do believe in their product and the science behind it.

Eric - pretty good answer, but a couple of errors. So they don't live on the board forever as gospel, here's the correction.

The VELscope is not a ultra violet light. It has a very specific wavelength of blue light (430 nm) produced by a group of specially calibrated LED's. Most people call it a fluorescent light which is way wrong. The reason that they go there, is that it excites some small parts of the cell called flourophores. When those start to vibrate inside the cell, tissue fluoresce takes place, which cannot be seen with the naked eye, but can when viewed through a yellow filter. Cells that do not fluoresce have SOMETHING wrong with them. Something is the operative word here.

The VELscope IS NOT a diagnostic device, and is not approved as one by the FDA. This is because it knows something is broken in the cell, but it does not know what. Hence it is not diagnostic. It finds dysplasia for sure, but it also finds viral, fungal, and bacterial infections, it finds hyperkeritosis, which is just a callous like hardening of the tissue. It also finds some other heathy things which you have to learn to recognize, like heavily vascularized areas. So it is referred to as a discovery device not a diagnostic device. The examiner still has to determine what something is that the VELscope finds. So the device is highly useful, but a long way from the second coming. The big shortcoming in my mind is that it is not helpful in finding early HPV oral cancers.

I'm not so smart, but OCF funded early research at MDACC on tissue fluorescence long before there every was a VELscope, and I have been an advisor to the company for over a decade. So I've been around this technology for a little bit.

So I stand corrected! Well I'm sitting but you get the point. The difference in answers Brian is just that you're the science guy getting the technical details, and I'm the sales guy explaining to those who don't care about the details.

Thanks Eric and Brian for this useful information. I appreciate the input by both the scientist and salesman!
I did mention Velscope which got very little reaction but I have learnt a lot and it is here for others who may want to search on the terms listed.
I guess the main thing is that the 5 minute visual (oral look and feel of nodes) with the surgeon produced a �Looks Good� comment
Next appointment in 6 months time but have one at the CCC on 21st September which I know is just doubling up but if it puts my mind at ease.....
Gabriele

I'm so pleased you got a good report, Gabe. Linda XX

I already said this but it bears repeating.... Wooooot!

Great words to hear!!!!

woo hoo Gabe!!!!