
A Dermatologist is a specialized medical professional who not only diagnose and treat skin related problems, but also deals with the diseases and problems of hair, scalp, and nails.
Dermatologists are known to diagnose and treat above 3,000 different kinds of diseases. These include even some of the difficult to treat diseases like skin cancer, psoriasis, warts, acne, eczema, hair loss/hair thinning, cosmetic problems, and nail infections.
Major Institutions for dermatology in:-
- India
- USA
- UK
Major Institutions for dermatology in India
- All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS)
- University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS)
- Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS)
- King Edward Memorial (KEM)
- Vardhaman Mahavir Medical College (VMMC)
- B. R Ambedkar Medical College, Karnataka
- College of Ayurved, Pune
- JSS Medical College and Hospital, Karnataka
- Mahatma Gandhi Mission Medical College, Maharashtra
Major Institutions for dermatology in USA
- UCF School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
- Wash U School of Medicine in St. Louis, Washington University, Saint Louis, Missouri
- Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts
- Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
- Michigan Medical School, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
Major Institutions for dermatology in UK
- Cardiff University School of Medicine, United Kingdom
- University of Buckingham, Medicine, England
- Kings College London, Biomedical Sciences, University of London
- Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, England
- Queen Mary University of London, Blizard Institute, England
Different fields in Dermatology?
The field of Dermatology is developing rapidly. There is mounting demand from the people and practitioners for particular dermatology are making it more advances. It is a medical field, which requires a full-fledged understanding of skin composition, internal medicine, immunology pharmacology, pathology, and genetics and further specialties counting.
Some of the common fields in dermatology are as follows
- Pediatric dermatologists
Pediatric dermatologists examine and treat young children with a host of skin problems. The immune system of a junior is disposed to be pregnable to diseases. These dermatology practices are usually rendered in clinics and day cares, diagnosing diseases, common skin disorders, allergies and infections that affect youngsters such as diaper rash, fungal infection or skin irritation etc. - Cosmetic dermatologist
A cosmetic dermatologist focuses in treating, curing, preventing and restoring the form of aged skin. Cosmetic or aesthetic dermatologists create similar career methods with a plastic surgeon; however cosmetic dermatologists bend to therapies and procedures that are minimally or completely non-invasive. Some of the most common procedures performed by a cosmetic dermatologist are facial peels, face lifts, wrinkle removal, fat reduction and microdermabrasion treatments. - Genital dermatology
Genital dermatology job involves the research and detection of diseases that sensitize the skin in the genital part. Most genital dermatologists have the competency and skills to cure a range of bugs. Some dermatological experts are capable to work upon other fields of genital dermatology, such as sexual health, sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) and disease prevention. - Procedural dermatologists
The procedural dermatologist job includes a Job type that conducts and manages with more invasive processes on the skin. It is generally handled by a procedural dermatologist. This makes necessary for a special training, practice and skills with surgical processes. Procedural dermatologists subscribes to similar roots with cosmetic surgeons, yet, many specialist who wish for a career in procedural dermatology will usually require the appropriate kind of diplomas. - Dermatophaology
Primarily a pathologist is one who governs in the pathology of the skin. Pathology is the examination and discovery of diseases. So, a dermatophaology job includes the study and scrutiny that follows for deciding treatments, cures and preventions. - Teledermatology jobs
There are specific jobs in dermatology that involves the spearhead of medicinal techniques, as well as teledermatology. It is a medical branch where telecommunication instruments are used to exchange medical information through images, audio and other forms of data. This branch of dermatology allows the practitioner to examine skin problems distantly in real-time usually via the internet. Though it is difficult to identify without inspecting a patient personally, teledermatologists are usually consulted to fortify medical opinions.
These are some of the various kinds of jobs in the field of dermatology. Many specialists are trained and skilled in different kinds of dermatology jobs while other are confined to specific field as per their area of expertise and interest.
Therapies provided by Dermatologist?
Common procedures performed
The list includes some of the most common procedures carried out by dermatologists, either in an outpatient setting or which needs a stay in a clinic:
- Biopsies: skin biopsies are chiefly conducted to diagnose or rule out certain skin conditions. There are 3 main types of skin biopsy that are mostly performed: shave biopsies extracts small sections of the top layer of skin, punch biopsies extract little circular portion including deeper skin layers and excision biopsies extracts whole of te part of unusual-looking skin.
- Cryotherapy: a common and rapid form of treatment for various benign skin problems such as boils, warts. Skin lesions are frozen, commonly employing liquid nitrogen, in order to kill impacted skin cells. Dermatologists perform cryotherapy in their clinics.
- Cosmetic injections: Lost facial volume and plumpness, wrinkles, fine lines and scarring can be temporarily treated with dermal injections to minimize the signs of aging. Fillers such as collagen, fats or Botulinum toxin therapy can be carried out by dermatologists in clinics. Results of dermal filler injectables tend to last for a couple of months up to a year or 2, depending upon the type of filler your doctor chose for your skin problem. Dermal injections are required to be repeated periodically, although some patients may develop antibodies to Botox that weaken down the repeat treatments procedures.
- Chemical peels: In this therapy, a chemical solution is applied on to the skin. It causes a layer of skin to split apart and peel off over the duration of up to 15 days, leaving below a layer of revitalized skin that is typically softer. Dermatologists can perform this treatment to treat certain type of acne, age spots, sun-damaged skin, as well as lines under the eyes.
- Dermabrasion: It is a type of therapy that can typically alter the appearance of the skin. For the process, dermatologists make use of a high-speed rotating brush to surgically take off the very top layer of skin. Using this brush, a dermatologist surgically cast aside scar tissue, permanent tattoos, age spots, fine wrinkles, and prospectively precancerous skin patches.
- Excisions of lesions: skin lesions can be conducted for many reasons like; to prevent a disease or skin condition to outspread, for cosmetic improvements, to control repeated infection, to minimize symptoms and for diagnosis. Based on the size of the lesion, general or local anesthesia can be given to the patient to numb the area.
- Hair restoration and removal: Hair loss by a dermatologist is treated with several methods such as hair transplantation, Platelet rich plasma or surgery to the scalp. A dermatologist is not only trained and specialized in restoring lost hair but also exercise treatments of unwanted body hair removal with electrolysis laser hair epilation to damage hair follicles.
- Laser surgery: Special light beams and laser techniques are used by a dermatologist to discard a range of skin complaints. These include, but are not just restricted to, permanent tattoo removal, permanent hair removal, birthmarks, tumors, scars, warts, moles, and wrinkles.
- Tumescent liposuction: Liposuction is the process to shed off of excess fat from the body. Dermatologists mainly use a specific process called tumescent liposuction to do this, whereby massive amount of local anesthetic are infused into the fatty tissue to being removed. The tissue is then ejected out of the body. Tumescent liposuction should however not be considered a treatment for obesity, instead a procedure for body shaping. The process can be forwarded further with the implementation of lasers to selectively destroy fat cells and help in excretion of tumescent fluid.
- PUVA: an abbreviated medical term that stands for "psoralen combined with ultraviolet A (UVA)" treatment. Psoralen is a drug that excites the skin for radiation treatment. PUVA is used to treat severe skin diseases such as psoriasis, vitiligo and dermatitis.
- Mohs surgery: It is a specific form of surgery to treat skin cancer. Layers of skin are peeled off and studied under a microscope for the purpose to dispose of cancerous cells. Successive layers of skin are extracted until the surgeon is not able to find any cancer cells. Mohs surgery is specifically performed by dermatologists who have completed particular additional medical training or by Mohs surgeons.
- Skin grafts and flaps: A dermatologists is a medical specialist who can fix parts of the body where skin is missing, essentially due to any surgery or an injury, utilizing skin from elsewhere on the body. Skin can either be transplanted (grafted), using a free piece of tissue without its own blood supply, or a skin flap can be made from skin tissue abreast of to the area of skin loss.
- Vein therapy: superficial leg veins - also called as spider veins are tiny, dilated surface veins that may appear unsightly. Sclerotherapy is a minimally invasive process that is generally the preferred treatment for spider veins. A dermatologist performs it by injecting either foam or a solution into the vein which sensitize the lining and causes it to close. The vein becomes less clear-cut or vanishes completely
Benefits of seeing a Dermatologist for skin disease and treatments over General physician
A dermatologist is a professionally trained, board certified medical specialist who "is specialized to examine and manage adult patients and pediatric with benign and pernicious diseases of the skin, hair and nails." On the other hand, a general physician does not possess any specific training, degree or diploma in dermatology or any particular field of it. A GP holds a medical degree but no specialized training, skills or competency to perform the dermatology jobs.
Dermatologists gain specific training in:
- Diagnosis and treatment of skin diseases and skin cancers
- Handling of contact dermatitis and other skin problems
- Surgical methods used to treat skin conditions
- Detection of skin diseases
- Dermapathology
- Cutaneous Oncology
- Photobiology and Photomedicine
- Disorders of Ethnic Skin
- Rosacea