Cosmetic procedures we all perform

Dermatologic surgery has always been an integral part of dermatology. Over the past two decades, the scope of dermatologic surgery has greatly expanded to include procedures more traditionally thought of as cosmetic surgery, such as hair transplantation, liposuction, sclerotherapy, or soft tissue augmentation (Zyderm, Zyplast, Fibrel). Also, many dermatologic surgeons are expertly trained to reconstruct large surgical defects with flaps and skin grafts. Although these complex procedures are becoming synonymous with dermatologic surgery, procedures such as "simple" excision, electrosurgery, cryosurgery, curettage, or scissors surgery remain extremely important. These basic procedures are utilized daily in the office to treat a wide variety of skin lesions that may have a cosmetic or reconstructive aspect to them.