Dermatologic Treatments

Cooper University Hospital

Chemical Peels

Thousands of chemical peels are performed each year. Dermatologic surgeons have agents for the last 100 years and are experts in performing multiple types of chemical peels public's increasing interest in rejuvenating skin and slowing effects of the aging process which has emerged as an exciting supplement to a total skin care program. Dr. Lawrence will evaluate before embarking upon a chemical peel.

Indications
Melasma, Acne, Skin aging, sun damage, wrinkles (depends on peel solution)

Melasma is a brown discoloration of the face most often seen in women. This change can get worse in the summer when exposed to the sun's harmful rays and often fades. Pregnancy is the most common cause of melasma.

The Center for Dermatologic Surgery treats melasma with prescription bleaching topical in addition to a series of chemical peels. Since sunlight is a major factor in the melasma, it is imperative top continue to avoid the sun, wear protective clothing and apply sunscreen.

Benefits

• Superficial: Freshens skin, makeup goes on nicer, may decrease some fine lines.
• Medium Depth: Chemical peeling is often used to treat fine lines under the eye and mouth. Wrinkles caused by damage, aging, and hereditary factors can often be eliminated with this procedure. However, sags, bulges and more severe wrinkle peeling and may require other kinds of cosmetic surgical procedures. Dr. Lawrence determines the most appropriate treatment for your needs.

Mild scarring and certain types of acne can be treated with chemical peels. In addition, in the form of sun spots, age spots, liver spots, freckles, blotchiness, due to taking birth control that is dull in texture and color may be improved with chemical peeling . Areas of sun damage precancerous keratosis and scaling patches may improve after chemical peeling. Follow lesions or patches are less likely to appear.

Age spots, also known as sun spots, are flat, brown discoloration of the skin which usually is around the neck, hands, and other areas of the skin exposed to the sun over many years.

A German Study Underscores the Benfits Of Full-Body Screenings

Skin Cancer World News Round-Up
Skin Cancer Foundation Journal 2013


Since its inception in 1979, The Skin Cancer Foundation has recommended that everyone have an annual full-body skin exam performed by a physician. In 2012, A German skin cancer screening study- The largest ever conducted-found that regularly having total-body skin exams can cut melanoma deaths by more than 50 percent.
    Over the course of this year-long program in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, doctors have found more melanomas than had been detected prior to the start of the program. This was not expected, since screenings typically lead to identification of greater numbers of skin cancers. What was more striking was how much earlier the melanomas were bring found. According to the researchers, this early identification slashed the melanoma death rate in half--very likely because tumors were thinner. As a general rule, the thinner the lesion, the easier to treat. Melanoma killed 43 men and 45 women in Schleswig-Holstein in the three years before the study, but just 23 men and 21 women in the post-study follow-up from 2006 to 2008.
    The results were so impressive that in 2008, Germany began a national skin cancer screening program, offering people ages 35 or older a total-body skin exam every two years. The authors suggested that such large-scale screening programs are feasible and advisable around the world, and have "the potential to reduce skin cancer burden, including mortality."

Tanning Machines Are Twice as Dangerous As the Midday Mediterranean Sun

Skin Cancer Foundation 2013

In their recent research into the dangers of ultraviolet (UV) tanning, British investigators didn't just crunch numbers. They also compared the "controlled dose" of UV radiation emitted by tanning machines with the intense midday Mediterranean sun -and refuted tanning salons operators' claims about the so-called "safety" of indoor tanning. The researchers found that the average indoor tanning machine in England is 2.3 times more cancer-causing than the midday Mediterranean sun, and some tanning machines are up to six times as dangerous. A 2003 study suggests that US tanning beds are about as dangerous as their English counterparts. Researchers determined that nine out of 10 tanning beds in England emit more UV radiation than recommended by British and European safety standards, typically, almost double the recommended amount. These excessive levels are especially worrisome considering that any UV tanning causes DNA damage that ages the skin and can ultimately cause skin cancers.

The Best Sun Shield for Car, Home and Office

Window Film
Skin Cancer Foundation 2013

The Best Sun Shield for Car, Home and Office

Whether you're driving, at home gazing out at your garden, or sitting by a window at work, you actually may be suffering continual skin damage. While everyday windows block most of the sun/s ultraviolet B (UVB) rays, they allow much of its ultraviolet A (UVA) rays to pass right through. UVA penetrates deep into the skin, causing DNA damage that can accelerate skin aging and lead to skin cancer.
If you frequently sit by windows, the single best safeguard against UV damage is transparent window film, sometimes referred to as window tint, which has been treated to screen out both UVA and UVB rays. Installing protective film on your windows will keep you virtually UV-free on the road, at home, or at the office.

Curing Car Trouble
In cars, only the laminated windshield comes with both UVB and UVA protection. The side and back windows allow in more than 60 percent of UVA rays. Research has shown that UV damage is more extensive on the side of the body closer to the window; long-time drivers also have rougher, slacker, more wrinkled skin on their window side. Babies and young children — who have little protective skin pigment — often sit in back, where none of the glass (even darker glass found in SUVs and mini-vans) offers adequate UVA protection. Fortunately, UVA-filtering window film can go a long way to prevent skin damage. Combining UVA absorbers in varying strengths, the transparent films are available from clear to dark tints for vehicles’ side and back windows in all 50 states; it screens out more than 99 percent of UVA and UVB without reducing visibility.

• Drivers in the US have more skin cancers on the left side of their faces: drivers in Australia have more skin cancers on the right.

Alternative Measures For Sun Protection While Driving
'It's wise to practice the following sun safety strategies everyday:

• Cover up with clothing. Long-sleeve shirts help prevent UV damage to the drivers' window-side arm, and long pants protect your legs.
• Use a broad spectrum (UVA/UVB) sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher. Don't forget often-missed spots like the top of the head, neck, hands and ears.
• Take extra precautions in convertibles and cars with sunroofs. Wear a wide-brimmed hat and wraparound, UV-blocking sunglasses.

UV-absorbing auto window film reduces skin cell death 93 percent.

Sun Protection Indoors

Indoor workers stationed near windows have significantly more wrinkled, rough-textured, and sagging skin on the side of the face closer to the window.
Today, however, UV-screening residential and commercial film is available for home and office. UV absorbers are added to clear or tinted polyester or vinyl to create film, which comes in varied tints, allowing 30-80 percent of visible light to get through. The installers apply it on the interior glass surface of the windows from flat sheets.

Window film will help prevent sunburn and skin cancer, as well as the brief daily UV exposures that accelerate skin aging over time.


Chronic exposure to UVA rays through windows may accelerate skin aging by 5 to 7 years.

More than 90 percent of skin cancers and the visible signs of skin aging, are caused by the sun.

Advantages of Window Film

• In hot weather, it cuts down heat within the vehicle or home, reducing air conditioning expenses.
• In cold weather, some films reflect interior heat back into the house, reducing heating costs.
• It helps keep sunshine from fading car upholstery and home furnishing.

UV-protective window film is available worldwide. For professional installation, look online or in the yellow pages under "glass tinting" or "glass coatings."

Several companies now carry The Skin Cancer Foundation's Seal Of Recommendation, offering assurance of safety and effectiveness.