Surgical Techniques: Punch Biopsy for the Evaluation of Vulvar Dermatoses

FIGURE 1 Biopsy of the skin is the most important diagnostic test for the evaluation of inflammatory dermatoses of the vulva such as lichen sclerosus and lichen simplex chronicus. Punch biopsy is the primary technique to obtain full thickness specimens that can sent for histologic evaluation by a dermatopathologist [1]. It is key to distinguish normal from abnormal. This figure represents a photo of a normal-appearing vulva, a histologic section of normal vulvar skin, and an illustration of the various layers within skin. Normal vulva Normal histology of vulvar region