Conditions & Services

St. Luke’s Dermatology offers comprehensive care for all of your adult and geriatric dermatologic needs. At your initial consultation, one of our skin experts will typically conduct a full skin examination so that you feel assured and comfortable in your own skin!

Our board-certified dermatologists are skin experts with advanced training in the diagnosis and management of complex dermatological conditions. We work with you through our team approach so that you become educated about your condition and the most up-to-date treatment options.

Conditions that your St. Luke’s board certified dermatologist commonly treats include:

• Acne
• Aging and brown spots
• Athlete’s foot
• Basal cell carcinoma
• Broken blood vessels
• Cellulite
• Dermatitis
• Dry skin
• Eczema
• Enlarged pores
• Excessive sweating
• Frown lines
• Hair removal
• Hand aging
• Melanoma
• Moles
• Nail fungus
• Psoriasis
• Rosacea
• Scars
• Shingles
• Skin cancer
• Spider veins
• Squamous cell carcinoma
• Sun damage
• Tattoo removal
• Unwanted hair
• Vitiligo
• Warts

Certain skin conditions are more common in younger patients, and some only occur in children. A board certified Pediatric Dermatologist is a full-fledged dermatologist who, through an additional year of training, specializes in diagnosing and treating skin conditions in newborns, infants, children, and adolescents. Typically, patients are 21 years of age or younger, though the cut-off for seeing a Pediatric Dermatologist may be dictated by your particular insurance plan.

Conditions that your St. Luke’s Pediatric Dermatologist commonly treats include:

• Acne and acne scarring
• Allergic “contact” reactions
• Alopecia (hair loss)
• Atopic dermatitis (eczema)
• Birthmarks
• Bug bites
• Congenital nevi (moles)
• Cysts
• Diaper rashes
• Dry skin
• Genetic conditions
• Hair disorders
• Hidradenitis suppurativa
• Hyperhidrosis
• Impetigo (skin infection)
• Molluscum
• Nail defects
• Pigmentation disorders
• Poison ivy
• Psoriasis
• Rosacea
• Scabies
• Skin cancer checks
• Sun protection education
• Tinea (ringworm) infections
• Vitiligo
• Warts

Mohs micrographic surgery, developed by Dr. Frederick Mohs in the 1930’s, is the single most effective technique for removing basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas (cure rates of 98% or higher), the two most common types of skin cancers.

Through specialized training, your St. Luke’s Mohs surgeon removes cancer cells while leaving behind the greatest amount of healthy, non-cancerous skin possible. When you consider that up to 80% of all basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas occur on the head and neck, you realize just how important it is to keep and protect this skin for cosmetic and functional reasons.

This entire process does not require you to wait days for lab results to come back as seen with traditional excisional surgery. Instead, your Mohs micrographic surgeon performs the entire procedure immediately, while you are on site. The entire process may take several hours from start to finish, however, it is worth the high cure rate and cosmetic outcome.

Healthy skin should be everyone’s priority, and the overall goal of St. Luke’s Dermatology’s skin enhancement, skin rejuvenation, and cosmetic dermatology services is to help you look and feel your very best. Our approach to skin enhancement is multi-modal and often technology-based. Typically, we combine deep skin cleansing techniques, skin texture and tone blending procedures, and interventions aimed at repairing and reducing skin imperfections (e.g., scars, age spots, discolorations, lines and wrinkles, veins, unwanted hair and others) with education and prevention strategies.

A concierge consultation with one of our expert dermatologists or affiliated plastic surgeons to evaluate and present skin enhancement options is the first step. Your desires and expectations are fully addressed, and a personalized plan is developed that offers the optimal strategy for delaying the signs of aging, maximizing your treatment results, and minimizing your out-of-pocket expenses.

Medical, surgical, and cosmetic use of focused light and other energy-based therapies have been employed for decades to successfully treat various skin conditions in a safe and controlled manner. St. Luke’s Dermatology currently offers our patients access to the following cutting-edge technologies:

• Pulsed dye laser (595 nm)
• Intense Pulsed Light (IPL)
• Photo-Dynamic Therapy (PDT)
• Phototherapy (UV-B narrowband, PUVA)

Utilizing these cutting edge technologies, we treat a variety of medical, surgical, and cosmetic skin conditions such as pre-cancers, acne, psoriasis, scars, stretch marks, hair removal/reduction, veins, body contouring and others. These powerful devices are not without risk, so our board certified dermatologists personally supervise each and every one of your treatment sessions.

A dermatopathologist is an expert in the microscopic diagnosis of diseases of the skin. This entails the examination and interpretation of specially prepared tissue sections, cellular scrapings, and smears of skin lesions by means of light microscopy, electron microscopy, and fluorescence microscopy. Dermatopathologists provide a personalized, consultative service to your physician, which includes analyzing your personal medical information in conjunction with clinical photography and observations through the microscope. The ultimate goal is to provide the best possible patient care for you.

Clinical trials help to innovate the field of dermatology. Clinical research studies, which require the participation of consenting patients, can help expand our treatment options by providing access to novel therapies and cutting edge technologies. In fact, much of today’s “standard” dermatology treatments are only possible because of knowledge gained through previous clinical trials.

Excellent dermatologic care is always available at St. Luke’s Dermatology, whether you choose to participate in a clinical trial or receive standard treatment. The decision to enter a clinical trial is always up to you. Our Clinical Research Center conducts numerous trials across multiple sub-specialties of dermatology and all phases of drug and device development. We can help you determine if one of our research studies is right for you.

The best way to find a trial that you may be eligible for is to talk to one of our clinical trials coordinators. They are familiar with all of St. Luke’s ongoing and planned trials and the specific eligibility criteria for each. Our coordinators will consider your personal information (e.g., age, gender, diagnosis, previous treatments, and other health issues, etc.) and help you find a trial that may be right for you.

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States. It usually forms in skin that has been damaged by sunlight, but it can occur anywhere in the body. Your family genetics and past medical history may play major roles as well. Affecting an estimated 1 in 5 Americans in our lifetimes, skin cancer has the potential to impact us all.

There are two broad categories of skin cancer:

Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer
Squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinomas may sometimes collectively be referred to as “non-melanoma skin cancers.” Detected early, these skin cancers usually respond to treatment and only rarely spread (“metastasize”) to other parts of the body.

Melanoma Skin Cancer
Melanoma is a typically more aggressive form of skin cancer. Left untreated, it is likely to invade nearby tissue and spread (“metastasize”). Melanoma causes the most deaths from skin cancer each year.

St. Luke’s Dermatology has board certified medical dermatologists and dermatological surgeons who have dedicated their professional lives to preventing and treating skin cancer. The focus of our comprehensive patient-centered Complex Cutaneous Oncology program is on the prevention and early detection of skin cancers. Our tools include our training and expertise, our access to cutting edge technologies, our high-impact clinical research, and our ability to educate our patients to live healthy skin lives.

If you have a skin cancer, our skin experts will partner with you to choose effective treatments and to develop strategies that help minimize your future risk for developing more.

Skin cancers that your St. Luke’s board certified dermatologist is likely to treat include:

• Angiosarcoma
• Basal cell carcinoma
• Cutaneous lymphoma
• Melanoma
• Merkel cell carcinoma
• Sebaceous carcinoma
• Squamous cell carcinoma

What Is a Mole?
A mole (or nevus) is a common skin growth caused by clusters of pigment-producing cells called melanocytes. Most people have 10–40 moles, which may appear in childhood and fade with age. While most moles are harmless, changes in size, shape, or color can signal a problem.

When should I see a dermatologist?
Watch for these warning signs:

• New moles in adulthood
• Changes in color, shape, or texture
• Itching, bleeding, or oozing
• Hardness, lumpiness, or ulceration

What Is Melanoma?
Melanoma is a serious form of skin cancer that begins in melanocytes. It can appear as a changing mole or a new growth and may spread to other organs if untreated. Early detection is critical.

Risk Factors for Melanoma
You may be at higher risk if you have:

• Over 50 moles or atypical (dysplastic) moles
• Fair skin, light eyes, or red/blond hair
• A history of sunburns or tanning bed use
• A personal or family history of melanoma
• Certain medical conditions or immune-suppressing medications

Diagnosis & Prevention
Dermatologists use tools like dermatoscopes and skin biopsies to diagnose melanoma. Protect your skin by:

• Avoiding excessive sun exposure
• Using sunscreen daily
• Performing regular skin self-checks
• Scheduling annual skin exams

People with pigmented skin (“skin of color”) are a diverse population of ethnic and racial backgrounds, including African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, Asians, Native Indians, and Pacific Islanders, as well as individuals of multi-racial descent. People in these groups often face many misconceptions about the causes and treatments of their skin conditions. Finding accurate information can be a real challenge, and people may spend considerable financial resources on ineffective therapies that are more rooted in mythology than in evidence-based medicine.

Skin of color is special in many ways. For example, certain skin care products and treatments work best for specific skin colors and hair types, and others do not work well at all. Likewise, the actual appearance of certain skin conditions may differ by skin type, making the diagnostic process more challenging to people unfamiliar with skin of color. Even the safety of certain dermatologic procedures varies across skin types. For these reasons, it is important to seek a dermatologist with specific knowledge of “skin of color” so that safe and effective alternatives can be utilized.

Your St. Luke’s board certified dermatologist is dedicated to serving all individuals with skin of color. St. Luke’s Dermatology has partnered with local and regional health care providers, professional medical organizations, and community groups to promote awareness of this important topic.

Conditions related to skin of color that your St. Luke’s dermatologist may treat include:

• Acne
• Acne keloidalis
• Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia
• Dermatosis papulosa nigra
• Discoid lupus
• Eczema
• Keloids
• Melanoma
• Melasma
• Non-melanoma skin cancer
• Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation
• Pseudofolliculitis barbae
• Sarcoidosis
• Seborrheic dermatitis
• Tinea capitis
• Traction alopecia
• Vitiligo

Patients affected by hair, scalp, or nail conditions may often times suffer tremendous physical and psychological distress as a result. Although rare, certain hair and nail conditions can signal internal health problems, and for this reason evaluation and management of these disorders are an essential part of patient care at St. Luke’s Dermatology.

Your St. Luke’s board certified dermatologist is available to help with the diagnosis and treatment of these specific hair, scalp, and nail conditions:

• Alopecia (areata, totalis, and universalis)
• Atopic Dermatitis (eczema)
• Bacterial infections (folliculitis)
• Contact dermatitis (allergic and irritant)
• Cysts
• Dandruff
• Female pattern baldness
• Hair loss related to autoimmune disorders
• Hair shedding (telogen effluvium)
• Hirsutism and Hypertrichosis (excessive hair)
• Loose anagen syndrome
• Male pattern baldness
• Onychomycosis (nail fungal infection)
• Psoriasis
• Scarring alopecia (lichen planus, frontal fibrosing, central centrifugal)
• Seborrheic dermatitis
• Tinea capitis (hair fungal infection)

At St. Luke’s Dermatology, we offer a comprehensive evaluation of patients suffering from hair, scalp and nail conditions. Our goal is to determine the underlying cause of your condition and then suggest an individualized treatment regimen that matches your personal needs.

Diagnosis of these conditions starts with a thorough medical assessment that includes a detailed personal and family history and an examination of the affected areas. Your St. Luke’s dermatologist may also choose to use a dermatoscope, a special instrument that gives a magnified view of the affected area. Next, if your St. Luke’s dermatologist is concerned, he or she may ask your permission to sample a small portion of the affected hair, scalp, or nail tissue (i.e., a “skin biopsy”). Usually, this minor surgical procedure takes only a few minutes and can be done in the clinic. The sampled tissue is then processed so that a skin-focused pathologist can examine it under a microscope, giving a greater amount of information to your St. Luke’s dermatologist. Blood tests and nutritional assessments may also be helpful in certain situations.