Dermatology & Venereology

Dermatology

Treatment of skin cancers

The most common form of skin cancer is the carcinoma.

Skin tumors generally develop after the age of 50 on exposed areas of the body like the face, neck, shoulders, forearms, and back of the hands. They are most often caused by excessive and chronic exposure to the sun.

Melanoma is another form of skin cancer, which is less frequent than carcinoma but much more dangerous. It can be located anywhere on the body, but appears most often on the trunk in men and on the legs in women, in two different forms:

• formation of a mole, a small pigmented spot on healthy skin
• change in appearance of an existing mole

Surgical removal of these lesions most often cures the patient, although additional treatment is sometimes necessary, especially when the lesion has evolved significantly.Therefore, it is essential that these lesions be identified at an early stage, especially in persons at risk.

During a dermatological consultation at Clinique La Prairie, the dermatologist examines the entire skin with the naked eye, then examines suspicious lesions under a dermatoscope, a medical magnifying glass.

While no treatment can definitively cure these illnesses, at Clinique La Prairie, we treat chronic inflammatory skin diseases, such as psoriasis, eczema, atopic dermatitis and lichen.

Through comprehensive care, and treatment of inflammatory outbreaks, the dermatologist takes care to prescribe appropriate therapy and to regularly monitor the situation.

Thus, the dermatologist may use the following, as required:

• topical steroids
• immunosuppressors
• light therapy

The stated goal is to improve the patient's quality of life. 

Treating related illnesses:

Related illnesses include:

• infectious or inflammatory nail diseases
• skin diseases of the scalp, and in particular hair loss
• Abnormal eccrine gland functionwhich leads to perspiration problems
• acne, the primary pathology of sebaceous glands which affects more than three-quarters of adolescents

Treatment of acne varies according to its severity: purely comedonal forms can be controlled, but may evolve towards inflammatory lesions, increasing the risk of unattractive scarring in the absence of early treatment.

There are many therapeutic possibilities:

• local treatment: lotion, gel, cream
• systemic drugs : antibiotics, isotretinoin
• hormonal treatment
• physical treatment (laser, lancing of micro cysts, correction of scarring)

Review and treatment of itching and hypersensitivity pathologies such as hives, lupus, hypodermatitis, and drug allergies:

These pathologies often require biological investigation and additional testing, conducted by the internal and general medicine department at Clinique La Prairie.

Since these pathologies can affect several organs in addition to the skin, treatment is often multidisciplinary: a dermatologist, internist and rheumatologist often join forces to meet the patient's needs.

Several so-called systemic general treatments are available to treat these pathologies:

• cortisone
• colchicine
• synthetic antimalarial drugs
• biotherapeutics

Infectious skin diseases

These are generally classified in three major categories:

• Bacterial: impetigo, folliculitis
• viral: herpes, shingles, warts, molluscum
• mycotic or parasitic: scabies, pediculosis, tropical parasitic diseases
  

While they have different origins, these infectious illnesses are most often treated locally. We use treatments based on topical molecules, antibiotics or fungicides, but also nonsurgical techniques such as liquid nitrogen, laser treatment, or electrocoagulation.

Dermatological Surgery

Certain benign or malignant skin lesions can be removed surgically.

Most often, these are moles, fatty tumors such as cysts, lipomas, or skin cancers.

Such interventions take place an ambulatory operating room, under local anesthesia. Because it is ambulatory surgery, there is rarely any need for recovery time or disruption of your work schedule. The removed lesion is then analyzed in order to clarify the diagnosis and to ensure that it has been entirely removed.

Venereology

Sexually transmitted diseases (STD), also called sexually-transmitted infections (STI) or venereal diseases are infectious diseases that are spread through sexual contact.

Infectious agents (bacteria, viruses and parasites) are responsible for various pathologies:

• syphilis
• gonorrhea
• genital herpes
• genital warts

By taking samples, the dermatologist can identify the illness, prevent it from spreading and administer a suitable treatment. Depending on the infectious agent in question, systemic antibiotic treatment, a topical fungicide, an antiviral drug or physical removal (using a laser or liquid nitrogen) will clear up the infection.