LAUSR

I have had the privilege of practicing dermatology for 35 years in San Diego. Like all dermatology residents, I was trained in classic dermatology while at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The UCLA program in the 1980s also emphasized surgical and cosmetic dermatology, training its residents in hair transplantation, dermabrasion, chemical peels, and sclerotherapy. It was also one of the first dermatology residency programs to evaluate the pulse dye laser for the treatment of vascular disorders. The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery was growing in numbers and scope with its meeting consisting of a mixture of skin cancer and cosmetic procedures. The meetings were even held back to back with the Mohs College. Bovine collagen was just released to treat acne scars and wrinkles. The candela pulse dye laser was developed to treat port-wine stains, the argon laser to treat telangiectasia, and the carbon dioxide laser to treat verruca vulgaris.