Treatments
Cryosurgery
“Cryosurgery – Liquid nitrogen is applied with a spray device to freeze anddestroy certain skin lesions.”
Uses: actinic keratosis, warts, irritated seborrheic keratosis
Electrosurgery
“Electrosurgery – An electric probe is used to create heat that destroys skingrowths.”
Uses: skin tags, angiomas, warts
Eletrodessication And Curettage
“Electrodessication and curettage – Electrodessication and curettage is a
destructive treatment for surface and early skin cancers where the location is scraped (curettage) and treated with an electric probe (electrodessication). “
Uses: shallow skin cancers
Surgery Of Skin Growths
“Surgery of skin growths – This is an in-office procedure where the skin lesion is removed by surgical excision.”
Uses: moles (nevi), dysplastic moles, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell
carcinoma, melanoma, cysts, and lipomas
Biopsy of Skin Lesion
“Biopsy of skin Lesson – This procedure is performed when we want to remove tissue for microscopic analysis. There are two main techniques employed for biopsy. The first is a shave biopsy where skin tissue is removed with a flat blade.
The second technique is a punch biopsy where a small, sharp, circular tool is used to remove a piece of skin tissue.
Uses: confirm a diagnosis of a benign lesion, cancerous lesion, or rash”
“Mohs Micrographic Surgery This is a specialized skin cancer surgery that is performed by a dermatologist who has had training in the Mohs surgery technique. It is a precise way to remove skin cancer, map the removed tissue and examine it under the microscope. It is considered a tissue-sparing surgical technique because it allows the surgeon to focus the procedure on the tissue that needs to be removed.”
Uses: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and non-invasive
melanoma
Biologics
“Biologics – Biologic medications, such as Humira, Skyrizi, and Dupixent, are injectable, systemic medications that target immune diseases.”
Uses: psoriasis and atopic dermatitis (eczema)
Isotretinoin Therapy (Eg. Accutane)
“Isotretinoin Therapy (formerly called Accutane) – This is a Vitamin A-derived medication that is used to treat severe acne that has not resolved with other treatments.”
Uses: acnePatch Testing
“Patch testing – This is a procedure where common chemicals (allergens)
that cause skin allergy rashes (contact dermatitis) are applied on a person’s back and then several days later the back is examined to see if the patient has had an allergic reaction to any of the chemicals.”
Uses: contact dermatitis
Photodynamic Therapy
“Photodynamic Therapy (PDT or Blue Light Therapy) – This is a procedure where a photosensitizing chemical is applied to the skin and then that area of skin is exposed to blue light. This treatment destroys pre-cancerous skin cells.”
Uses: actinic keratosisDermoscopy For Mole Evaluation
“Dermoscopy for mole evaluation – Many of our physicians and physician
assistants use a dermatoscope to get more information about a skin lesion to
more accurately diagnose. This procedure uses a handheld instrument to magnify and illuminate skin lesions. It is most commonly used to better
characterize pigmented lesions (moles, sun spots) to help determine if they are
normal or abnormal.”
Topical Chemotherapy Creams For Actinic Keratosis
“Topical chemotherapy creams for actinic keratosis – When a person has a smaller number of actinic keratosis (pre-skin cancers), these are often treated with cryosurgery because it is a focused spot treatment. However, when people have many actinic keratoses over a much larger area, they can be treated with topical chemotherapy cream such as 5-fluorouracil (Efudex) or imiquimod (Aldara). These treatments typically are applied by the patient daily over several weeks and can cause redness and skin crusting”
