What is Juvéderm?
If you’re looking for non-invasive ways to treat fine lines and wrinkles, chances are that Juvéderm has come up in conversation. While classified as a filler, Juvéderm is a sweeping term for a collection of hyaluronic acid fillers with each product targeting a specific area of the face.
Hyaluronic acid is naturally produced in the skin after which it breaks down, and then builds it up again as part of an ongoing cycle. As opp...
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Nail Diseases
What Are Nail Diseases?
Much like how rapidly changing spots on one’s skin can indicate something dangerous like skin cancer, your fingernail health can be a sign that something more serious is lingering below the surface.
While most people probably don’t think of their nails that often, they know what their nails should look like: shiny with no ridges, pits, redness or scale around them and symmetrically grown. The lunula, named for its cr...
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Pyoderma Gangrenosum
What Is Pyoderma Gangrenosum?
Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a rare ulcerating skin disease, difficult to recognize for both patients and doctors. When it’s misdiagnosed and mistreated, it can be even more mentally and physically devastating.
Ulcers form for a variety of reasons. They come from infections, diabetes, vasculitis, and many other triggers. But when they don’t respond and perhaps worsen with therapy, patients and doctors often explore oth...
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Suspicious Moles
What Are Suspicious Moles?
If you’re like most people, you either have freckles, moles, birthmarks, or a combination of all three. We don’t think much about them and assume if it was something serious, it would look like it.
But with so many marks on your body, could you tell the difference between a freckle or a suspicious mole?
Normal moles are either brown or tan, generally round in shape, and either flat or raised.
Suspicious moles, on the othe...
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Actinic Keratosis
What is Actinic Keratosis?
Actinic keratosis (AK) is one of the most common issues we see in dermatology clinics. It’s evidence that the skin has had too much sun exposure. Because of this UV damage, the skin hasn’t been able to regulate growth and now produces white to flesh tone to pink, scaly lesions on the skin. If left untreated, these can develop into squamous cell carcinoma.
What Are the Symptoms of Actinic Keratoses?
Patients first notice a...
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Basal Cell Carcinoma
What is Basal Cell Carcinoma?
Basal cell carcinoma is the most common cancer in the world. With three to four million people in the United States diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma each year, this cancer affects more people than all other cancers combined.
Fortunately, basal cell carcinoma is also the least serious of all cancers. 99% of basal cell carcinoma cases stay local, meaning it only affects the area where it starts. Sometimes it’s more co...
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Melanoma
What Is Melanoma?
Melanoma is the least common skin cancer, but causes the majority of skin cancer deaths.
What makes melanoma so deadly is its ability to metastasize in three different ways: through the skin, blood and lymphatics.
As opposed to basal and squamous cell carcinoma tendencies to stay localized, melanoma’s ability to spread through the blood makes it particularly dangerous.
However, melanoma is highly curable when found in the beginn...
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Reconstructive Surgery
What is Reconstructive Surgery?
Reconstruction is a broad term (often associated with plastic surgery) that refers to everything from reconstructive surgeries to cosmetic augmentations. Likewise, there is a wide range of what facial reconstruction might entail. Reconstruction after Mohs surgery can range from a small closure stitched into a wrinkle to a large flap with multiple sutures in different areas of the face.
A wide range of reconstructive opti...
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Squamous Cell Carcinoma
What Is Squamous Cell Carcinoma?
The second most common skin cancer, squamous cell carcinoma forms on the outer tissue of the skin, most often around sun-exposed skin such as the face, mouth and ears.
It’s often overlooked due to its less frequent appearances as only two out of ten skin cancers are diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma. However, it’s potentially more aggressive than the most common skin cancer — basal cell carcinoma — and ge...
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Itching
What is Itchy Skin?
Pruritus, the medical term for itchiness, is a symptom of another condition. It is a side effect, not a separate disease. Itchy skin results from a variety of causes varying in severity, including skin growths, rashes, and systemic illnesses.
What Causes Itchy Skin?
Itching occurs for many potential reasons. The only way to effectively treat itchiness is by identifying (and treating) the underlying cause.
Potential causes of itchi...
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