.png?v=1667978305)
One of the more common requests we receive is for assistance when the faceplate has cracked on one of our customer’s dermatoscopes. To be clear, most of the time that customers refer to their “lens” being broken, it is in fact the “faceplate” that they’re referring to.
"...as long as you're OK not performing 'contact' dermoscopy while you're waiting for your new faceplate to arrive, then you can simply remove your damaged faceplate and continue seeing patients – but just be careful!"
Although ordering a new faceplate is a straightforward matter, I often find that customers are understandably frustrated because now they feel that they will be unable to use their dermatoscope until they receive the replacement faceplate.
So in the video above, I take a moment to show how it’s easy to simply “pop off” the broken faceplate, which then allows you to use your dermatoscope in the meantime, while waiting for the replacement.
The faceplate really serves two purposes. First, it provides some protection of the internal components.
Second, it also provides a hard, transparent surface for performing “contact” dermoscopy. However, neither of these functions are absolutely necessary for performing traditional, “non-contact” dermoscopy.
So as long as you're OK not performing “contact” dermoscopy while you're waiting for your new faceplate to arrive, then you can simply remove your damaged faceplate and continue seeing patients – but just be careful!
PS – If you have a DL4 and its faceplate needs to be replaced, we have another video which specifically reviews your options. The Dermlite DL4 is just a little tricky since two different versions of faceplates have been used since the DL4 began production: