There are many different health conditions, both acute and chronic, that can have an impact on your skin. Dermatology, or the focus on the treatment and care of the skin, hair, and nails, is an important specialization for many different individual and many different health issues.
While there can be cosmetic types of treatment including in dermatology, most dermatologists work with patients with injuries, infections, diseases, or conditions of the skin. This can include skin cancers, psoriasis, eczema, and a variety of different infections of the nails as well as the skin.
Sometimes dermatology is recommended by a family physician to accurately diagnose skin cancer. This may require a biopsy as well as a detailed and very specific type of examination. By seeing a dermatologist, the patient can accurately rule out cancer if it is not present as well as discover the cause of the issue with the skin.
Special Treatment Options
Anyone practicing dermatology will be a full medical doctor who has also completed a dermatology residency program and additional training. This focuses in their knowledge of nto just conditions of the skin, nails, and hair, but in conjunction with other medical issues.
With this specialized training and experience, a doctor practicing dermatology will be able to remove skin cancers through excision or surgeries, use cryotherapy, and complete biopsies which are essential for the diagnosis of skin cancers.
A dermatologist can also work with patients with acne, excessive scarring, with skin discolorations or with conditions such as allergies or hives which result in complications with the skin.
Some doctors specializing in dermatology are also pediatricians while others may work exclusively with elderly patients in the treatment of age-related skin conditions.
Mohs Surgeons
Some doctors offering dermatology have completed additional training to become Mohs surgeons. Mohs surgery is the most commonly used procedure to remove and treat skin cancer.
Through this additional training to become a Mohs surgeon, the dermatologist will learn the specific procedures to do this very exacting surgery as well as when it is indicated or when another type of surgical procedure would be more effective.
While you can receive a recommendation or a referral from your family physician to see a dermatologist, you can also make an appointment yourself. Often when people find irregular moles, notice skin growths or have chronic skin conditions, they will already have a doctor offering dermatology on their medical care team.
