If you needed heart surgery to lengthen the quality of your life, you would not go to a general practitioner or family medicine doctor. It is doubtful that you would even consider consulting a specialist outside the cardiology field. For instance, if you needed a stent put into your heart, you would seek a surgeon that specializes in interventional cardiology. To ensure the highest level of care you would want someone that has the proper credentials and specializes in this service.

The point is that many forms of medical practice are highly specialized. Many believe that finding a specialist to help with your dermatological or “skin” needs may be a simple task. However, an esthetician, general practice doctor or internist do not necessarily have the expertise and additional years of training for taking care of the biggest organ of the body — the skin. It is these qualifications that make the specialty of dermatology even more unique.

The skin is a manifestation of what is on the inside. Oftentimes dermatologists are thoroughly trained in internal medicine or family practice prior to being allowed to undergo the necessary years of advanced training in dermatology. The practice of cosmetic dermatology is even more specialized than general dermatology. It requires that the specialist be an artist, has the client’s best interest in mind, and is able to integrate art and medicine to optimize the most aesthetic yet natural looking results for their clients. Too often clients ignore this important factor in choosing a doctor to provide medical services on their skin. Often they do not stop to ask whether their physician is a licensed and board-certified dermatologist. Some practitioners claim to be board-certified. “Board-certified” is similar to saying, “I passed my test”, but it is important to ask what specialty they are board-certified in. Clients should make sure that their skin doctor is Board Certified in Dermatology. Unfortunately, clients often entrust those who advertise dermatology services even though these practitioners do not hold a specialized advanced training certification.

Worse yet, clients choose non-physicians (e.g. nurses, physician’s assistants) to provide services when these individuals may, in actuality, have very little experience in treating skin and can possibly cause unnecessary harm, all the while charging fees similar to that of a dermatologist.

Many clients unknowingly choose non-board certified physicians. These physicians will provide services within the spectrum of dermatology without informing the client that they are not specifically trained in the field. They may also neglect to give the client an option for referral to a board-certified dermatologist.

Some examples of procedures that should be performed by a board-certified specialist are: skin screening, skin biopsies, mole removals and cosmetic dermatology services. “In a study of 7 institutions representative of the U.S. medical schools in general, nearly 25% of all medical students surveyed had never even observed a skin cancer examination, and 43% had never examined a patient for skin cancer”

Don’t get caught on flawed advice. You want to get the quality of service you expect and deserve from your selected physician. Just sometimes this requires you to do a little homework.

HEALTH & BEAUTY
Aug 28 — Sept 3

Maui dermatologist Micki Ly, M.D. and staff are located at the Aloha Dermatology and Laser Center in Kahului. The client-friendly floor plan is designed to provide space for comprehensive and specialized skin care services.

“Our vision was to provide our patients with a full-service clinic and at the same time, through good design, create a setting that promotes a positive experience for our patients,” said Dr. Ly. “We’ve paid a lot of attention to patient comfort and privacy.”

With larger facilities, Dr. Ly has added space for more services including expanded patient education materials, additional products, samples, and the implementation of a more efficient schedule management system, which results in less waiting time for appointments.

“Aloha was included in our name because it captures the spirit of care, compassion, hospitality, and respect we strive to convey to our clients.” said Dr. Ly. “We love making people look and feel better.”

Dr. Ly and her staff are excited about the level of care the new location provides room for “Amazing advances in health care allow us to offer our clients a fuller array of services in dermatology and cosmetic procedures,” said Dr. Ly.

The office is located at 89 Ho‘okele Street, Suite 101, in Kahului, right behind The Home Depot and is surrounded by convenient parking spaces. For a personal consultation, information or driving directions, visit www.aloha-dermatology.com. 808-877-6526.

“Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States,” Dr. Micki Ly, a Maui, Hawaii-based dermatologist, explains to OK!. “More than a million cases are diagnosed annually.” But Eric was extremely wise to act quickly in dealing with it, she says. “The mouth is a bad area for a malignancy because they spread faster in mucosal areas, of which the mouth is one.”

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