Current status of surgery in dermatology.

An article titled "Current issues in dermatologic office-based surgery" was published in the JAAD in October 1999 (volume 41, issue 4, pp. 624-634). The article was developed by the Joint American Academy of Dermatology/American Society for Dermatologic Surgery Liaison Committee. A number of subjects were addressed in the article including surgical training program requirements for dermatology residents and selected advances in dermatologic surgery that had been pioneered by dermatologists. The article concluded with sections on credentialing, privileging, and accreditation of office-based surgical facilities. Much has changed since 1999, including more stringent requirements for surgical training during dermatology residency, and the establishment of 57 accredited Procedural Dermatology Fellowship Training Programs. All of these changes have been overseen and approved by the Residency Review Committee for Dermatology and the Accreditation Committee for Graduate Medical Education. The fertile academic environment of academic training programs with interaction between established dermatologic surgeons and fellows, as well as the inquisitive nature of many of our colleagues, has led to the numerous major advances in dermatologic surgery, which are described herein.

Long-term follow-up of patients with early-stage cutaneous T-cell lymphoma who achieved complete remission with psoralen plus UV-A monotherapy.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate long-term outcomes, impact of maintenance therapy and potential curability of patients with mycosis fungoides (MF) treated with psoralen plus UV-A (PUVA) monotherapy. DESIGN: Single-center retrospective cohort analysis. SETTING: Academic referral center for cutaneous lymphoma. PATIENTS: A total of 66 of 104 patients with clinical stages IA to IIA MF who achieved complete remission (CR) after PUVA monotherapy between 1979 and 1995. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Kaplan-Meier actuarial survival and disease-free survival curves were compared between stage IA and IB/IIA cases. Patients were stratified into relapse and nonrelapse groups based on whether their MF relapsed during study follow-up. Baseline characteristics and treatment were compared between these groups. RESULTS: Median follow-up time was 94 months (range, 5-242 months). Thirty-three patients maintained CR for 84 months (range, 5-238 months), and 33 patients experienced relapse with a median disease-free interval of 39 months (range, 2-127 months). There was no significant difference in baseline characteristics between patients in the nonrelapse and relapse groups. Those in the nonrelapse group received a higher cumulative dosage to CR (P = .03) and required longer treatment periods to achieve CR (P = .03). Disease-free survival rates at 5 and 10 years for all patients with stage IA were 56% and 30%, respectively, and for stage IB/IIA, 74% and 50%. Actuarial survival rates at 5, 10, and 15 years were 94%, 82%, and 82%, respectively, in patients with stage IA, and 80%, 69%, and 58% in patients with stage IB/IIA. The overall survival rate for the nonrelapse and relapse groups did not show any statistical difference. One third of the patients developed signs of chronic photodamage and secondary cutaneous malignancies. CONCLUSIONS: Psoralen UV-A is an effective treatment for MF, inducing long-term remissions and perhaps in some cases disease "cure." Thirty percent to 50% of patients remain disease free for 10 years, but late relapses occur. Long-term survival is not affected by relapse status, and the risk of photodamage needs to be measured against the possible benefit of greater disease elimination.

Photoaging and phototoxicity from long-term voriconazole treatment in a 15-year-old girl.

Voriconazole is a second-generation triazole that was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in May 2002 for treatment of severe fungal infections. In clinical trials it demonstrated superior efficacy in addition to a survival benefit when compared with the then current treatment standard, amphotericin B, for primary treatment of invasive aspergillosis. Voriconazole is a highly selective inhibitor of fungal cytochrome P450 enzymes. Adverse cutaneous reactions have been reported, namely cheilitis, erythema, discoid lupus erythematosus, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, erythema multiforme, and photosensitivity reactions. We report a case of photoaging caused by voriconazole therapy. A 15-year-old patient developed cheilitis and erythema over the sun-exposed areas of her body 5 weeks after beginning voriconazole for a severe fungal infection. The lesions showed a mild transient improvement before subsequent photodamage occurred to the back of her forearms, back of her hands, and face. Voriconazole was discontinued once the fungal infection had completely resolved. The patient's blisters, erythema, and cheilitis resolved after discontinuation of voriconazole. However, she was left with solar elastotic changes, multiple lentigines, and ephelides of sun-exposed areas. These cutaneous manifestations may represent a unique adverse event caused by a new second-generation triazole.

Dermabrasion: state of the art 2002.

Dermabrasion is a resurfacing procedure that has been part of dermatology for almost 100 years. With the advent of laser resurfacing in the 1990s, the art of dermabrasion has temporarily been partially eclipsed. This review article covers the history of dermabrasion, (pre-operative selection of patient equipment, the techniques and the post-operative care of dermabrasion patients. Many clinical examples are illustrated. The combination of dermabrasion with other resurfacing techniques, such as laser (CO(2 )and Erbium) and chemical peels (trichloracetic acid (TCA)) are illustrated.