The Skinny on Dermatology: A Few Common Medical Procedures
By the Editor | July 26, 2010
When we think “dermatologist”, we may only think about a specialist who consults her patients on facial skin problems, like acne. But the dermatologist provides a wide array of services having to do with skin, scalp, hair, and nails, and performs various medical procedures. Here are a few of the most popular.
1. Hair transplantation
When a patient is confronting the often debilitating prospect of hair loss, dermatologists may opt to perform a cosmetic procedure known as hair transplantation. The way it works is that the dermatologist will remove skin containing hair follicles and surgically attach it to skin lacking these follicles. This procedure is mostly used to treat male pattern baldness, but can be used in other instances, like, for example, with eyebrows, eyelashes, and beard hair.
2. Laser therapy
Laser therapy can be used in a variety of ways within the scope of dermatology. One such procedure is the removal of tattoos. Another way in which laser therapy is used is removing hair, unsightly birthmarks, or rejuvenating the skin.
3. Cyrosurgery
Cyrosurgery is a form of medical surgery in which extreme hot or cold is a applied to an affected area in order to remove abnormal or diseased tissue. For the dermatologist, cyrosurgery is usually performed in order to remove warts, skin tags, Morton’s neuroma, solar karatoses, and in some instances, very mild skin cancers. The most common method in cyrosurgery is freezing with liquid nitrogen.
4. Electrodesiccation and Currettage
This procedure is usually abbreviated as ED&C, and it is employed to treat minor skin cancers, pre-cancers, and other benign growths. First, the affected area is anesthetized and then a tool is used to scrape the abnormal tissue off the skin. After that, the affected area is cauterized until blood stops flowing.
5. Liposuction
Although liposuction is a medical procedure undertaken by different types of surgeons, it can be performed by the dermatologist, too. Liposuction is one of the most popular forms of cosmetic surgery. Dermatologists use a specific procedure called “tumescent liposuction” in which fat is removed from different parts of the body like the ankles, hips, and neck. Liposuction is also used to remove fatty, benign tumors like lipoma and can even be used to treat excessive perspiration.
For some more descriptions of popular dermatological medical procedures, see the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology’s list of procedures.
This guest post is contributed by Tisha Dotson, who writes on the topics of medical coding certification. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: tishadotson86 @gmail . com.
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