Approximately 10 to 15% of primary care workload is concerned with common skin conditions and managed entirely within the Family Practice.
Our group of enthusiastic family physicians has obtained an extensive experience in skin disease management. We are happy to offer an assistance to our colleagues in managing skin conditions and reviewing suspicious lesions on an expedited basis.
4 of our doctors are currently accepting referrals to treat a variety of skin conditions such as acne, dermatitis, eczema, rosacea, psoriasis, vitiligo, warts, shingles, fungal infections, hair and nail problems.
Majority of the skin conditions can be treated with medication and non-invasive therapy. However, some require surgical intervention or other invasive procedures (see below).
Cryotherapy utilizes liquid nitrogen to freeze and destroy the disease affected skin cells.
Biopsy is employed to diagnose and rule out certain skin conditions.
Dr. Inna Fadyeyeva ( CCFP, Clinical Assistant Professor ( UBC)) earned a Diploma of Practical Dermatology from Cardiff University, UK in 2014. She is in the final phase of completing her Diploma of Skin Cancer Medicine (Australia). She has been providing primary skin care consulting for the last 9 years with hundreds of consults annually. She is a founder of the iHealthMD Skin Centre and provides consistent and ongoing support to the community physicians in managing their patient’s skin issues. She has been a strong proponent of teaching skin disorders diagnosis and management in primary care to Family Medicine residents. She has been utilizing her surgical skills (was an eye surgeon in Ukraine) for numerous procedures and excisions of suspicious moles and skin lesions.
Dr. Aaron Goldstein (CCFP, FRACGP, Dip Skin Cancer Medicine) has spent seven years practicing dermato-oncology in Cairns, Australia and has over 12 years of skin cancer experience working in the sun cancer capital of the world on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. In that time he has performed thousands of skin checks, biopsies and excisions on the face and body. He is an expert in the management of actinic keratoses and the non-melanoma skin cancers offering both conservative and surgical treatment options where appropriate. He is adept at dermatoscopy, photo cataloging moles, mole surveillance and removal of suspicious pigmented lesions of the skin. He is also skilled at minor cosmetic (non-MSP privately paid) surgery including mole, sebaceous cyst, lipoma, scrotal calcinoses, skin tags, as well as other lumps and bumps removal. He completed Diploma of Skin Cancer Medicine ( Australia).
Preparation for you skin related issues consults.
There are no restrictions as to what you can eat or drink the night before and on the day of your minor surgery. The procedure is done under local anesthesia. You will be able to drive home afterwards.
Skin Preparation
Please do not use hair spray, or moisturizer.
Child Care
Please do not bring children to the clinic the day of your surgical procedure.
During the Procedure
Typical procedure lasts 10 to 20 minutes depending on the condition being treated.
Typical procedures performed at our center are:
- Skin lesion biopsy
- Skin cyst removal
- Mole (pigmented skin lesion) removal
- Pre-cancerous and skin cancer lesion removal
- Basal cell carcinoma biopsy and excision
- Squamous cell carcinoma biopsy and excision
- Melanoma biopsy and excision
You may need a referral from your Family Physician to book a consult.