Dermatology in Minnesota

Frequently Asked Questions about Dermatology Services

What treatment do you offer for psoriasis? Who specializes in treating this disease?
Mayo Clinic offers a highly effective treatment for patients with extensive psoriasis. The Goeckerman treatment was developed by a Mayo Clinic dermatologist in 1925 and has been used at Mayo ever since. The key components of this treatment are daily ultraviolet light therapy and daily tar applications. It generally involves a three to five day hospital stay and 16 days of outpatient treatment. A brochure is available to those interested in more detailed information.

A number of Mayo Clinic dermatologists specialize in this treatment. See the List of Doctors for specifics. For more information on psoriasis, see the American Academy of Dermatology website.

What treatments are available for hair loss?
See treatment of hair loss

I want to know about treatments for acne and rosacea.
Acne and rosacea (sometimes called "adult acne") are treatable conditions. Mild acne requires only surface treatment, such as antibacterial and drying agents. Moderate or severe acne may need both surface treatment and oral antibiotics. For more information on these conditions and treatments, see the American Academy of Dermatology website.

How do you treat warts?
There are many kinds of warts and the treatment depends on the kind of wart. Mayo Clinic has a special wart clinic to focus on diagnosis and treatment of these problems. For information on treatment of warts, see the American Academy of Dermatology website.

Do you offer laser treatment for skin problems? Mayo Clinic offers laser treatments for a number of purposes, including:

• Laser resurfacing--eliminating wrinkles, correcting acne scars and improving aging and sun-damaged skin
• Eliminating hemangiomas (Port-Wine Stains) and spider angiomas or "broken vessels"
• Removal of tumors and other growths
• Hair removal
• Pigmentation and tattoo removal

Do you offer chemical peels for skin conditions?
Mayo Clinic uses two different methods for treating conditions on the skin's surface:

• Chemical peel. This is a controlled chemical burn of the top layers of your skin with trichloroacetic acid (TCA). It is used to smooth out fine wrinkles, sun damage and color abnormalities of the face.
• Dermabrasion. A rapidly rotating instrument is used to "sand" the outer layers of the skin. It is most often used for acne scars but is also used to remove wrinkles, tattoos, skin lesions and melasma (blotchy brown spots that occur on the cheeks, temples or forehead).

Complete healing usually takes about three months with both of these procedures.

Can you tell me the areas of specialization of your doctors?
See the List of Doctors for this information.