Dermatology and Skin Cancer Treatment Services
Patient services provided by the Ash Dermatology & Skin Cancer Center.
Dermatology
Skin Cancer
Acne Treatment
Laser Treatment
Ash Dermatology & Skin Cancer Center Services
If you have a question about any of the services we offer please feel free to call us at (321) 986-9335.
Dermatology
Dermatology is an area of medicine concerned with taking care of problems of the skin, hair, nails, and mucous membranes.
The skin, which is the body’s first line of defense, is the largest organ in the body. There can be signs of underlying health problems exhibited on the skin.
Here are some examples of the more common conditions Dr. Ash is trained to treat: Vitiligo, acne, Dermatitis and eczema, Fungal infections, hair disorders, nail problems, psoriasis, rosacea, skin cancer, shingles, or herpes zoster and warts.
Dr. Ash uses oral and topical medications for many dermatologic conditions. Other conditions may be treated with non-invasive therapy, but some conditions will require Dr. Ash to treat them with surgical intervention or more invasive treatment. These procedures can take place in an outpatient setting at Ash Dermatology & Skin Cancer Center, PA
Common interventions include:
Biopsies: The lesion in question is numbed by the injection of lidocaine with 1% epinephrine (unless there are allergies) and the questionable skin is biopsied one of three ways. Dr. Ash may shave the lesion off, excise the lesion or a piece of skin in an elliptical shape, or use a cookie-cutter like devise to take a round piece of skin.
Cryotherapy: Dr. Ash will often us liquid nitrogen to treat precancerous lesions. The liquid nitrogen is cold enough to destroy the skin to the depth of penetration. Thereby making it the perfect treatment for thin lesions. The treated area may or may not blister.
Excisions of lesions: Dr. Ash will excise skin lesions to cure cancer and prevent disease from spreading, She will also excise lesions which are bothersome or painful.
Hair removal: Unwanted body hair can be removed with a laser that destroys hair follicles on all skin types.
Skin Cancer
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. The two most common types of skin cancer are basal cell carcinoma (abnormal growth of the basal cells of the skin) and squamous cell carcinoma (abnormal growth of the squamous cells of the skin). These forms of skin cancer generally occur on sun-exposed skin of the head, face, neck, hands, and arms. They can however, grow on any sun exposed or non-sun-exposed skin as well. Another type of skin cancer, melanoma, is more dangerous but less common.
Anyone can get skin cancer, but it is more common in people who:
- Spend a lot of time in the sun or have been sunburned
- Used a tanning bed – especially before the age 18
- Have Light-colored skin, hair or eyes
- Have a family member with skin cancer (especially true with melanoma)
- Are over age 40
Dr. Ash will check any suspicious skin markings and any changes in the way your skin looks. Treatment is more likely to work well when cancer is found early. If not treated, some types of skin cancer cells can spread to other tissues and organs.
Acne
Acne is a condition that occurs when your hair follicles becomes clogged with oil and dead skin cells. It often causes whiteheads, blackheads or pimples. It can occur anywhere on the body but often occurs on the face, chest, neck, upper back and shoulders.
Acne can affect people at any age but often occurs in teenagers.
We often treat with creams and lotions and well as topical and oral antibiotics. But the treatments we use are not one-size-fits-all and Dr. Ash will customize a treatment plan for each patient. Ash Dermatology and Skin Cancer Center, PA also owns a laser that can help control acne and help with acne scarring.
We usually make follow-up plans for patients at 3-month intervals because it usually takes that long to see if a treatment is helping. It is important to know that acne may also worsen before improving.
Laser Treatment Services
Ash Dermatology & Skin Cancer Center, PA owns 3 Candela lasers:
- V-beam – 595nm laser: used for the treatment of anything red on the skin (i.e., cherry angioma, rosacea, scars, and veins). The Pulsed Dye Laser emits a burst of light tuned precisely to target the red pigment in blood and blood vessels without harming other parts of the skin. Therefore, the laser can remove dilated blood vessels while leaving the surrounding skin intact.
- Gentle-yag – 1064nm laser: used for the treatment of purple veins and for the reduction of hair on all skin types including tanned skin. It is a non-ablative laser, which means that there is no break in skin tissue continuity during the treatment.
- Smoothbeam – 1450nm laser: used to treat fine lines, wrinkles, acne scars, and active acne. The treatment works by stimulating the production of natural collagen deep within the skin.