On March 24th and 25th, we had the honor and privilege to have the first guest dermatologist at Derma-Act Clinic be Prof. Emilios Lalas – one of the leading specialists in the field of Dermatoscopy.
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Prof. Lalas is an internationally recognized and certified dermatologist who currently holds the position of General Secretary of the International Dermatoscopic Society.
He participated as a keynote speaker and presenter in a number of national and international congresses, seminars and trainings, mainly on topics related to skin cancer prevention, screening and monitoring of melanomas and suspicious skin formations. His main field of research interest is the dermatoscopy of skin tumors and the application of this method in general dermatology and improving the condition of patients with oncological diseases.
The procedure itself (dermatoscopy) is a non-invasive medical method of diagnosis, in which the surface of the skin is examined through a magnifying glass/loupe, looking for morphological changes which are invisible to the naked eye.
Professor Lalas has co-authored about 120 scientific articles published in PubMed Central, most of them focused on dermatoscopy, and 4 book chapters on the same topic. He has received grants from several foundations and academies, including the Lecturer of the Year award of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, as well as the Annual Fellowship of the American Academy of Dermatology.
In addition, he is also a research assistant in the Department of Dermatology at the Faculty of Medicine at the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Greece. He specializes in the diagnosis of skin cancer through non-invasive techniques, as well as in the treatment of patients with skin cancer.
The purpose of his visit was mainly aimed at preventing skin cancer, raising awareness of the importance of early diagnosis in this type of tumor and the importance of a timely response and follow-up. We invited him precisely at this time of the year because spring is the right time for a patient to find out in time whether or not there is something worrying them and what measures they should take in case a change in the dermis is detected.
During his visit to the Derma-Act Clinic, Prof. Lalas performed a number of examinations and consultations on patients with suspicious skin formations. Each patient was pre-registered in Prof. Lalas’ schedule and personally examined by him completely free of charge. We believe that in this way we stand behind our desire to change stereotypes and make access to dermatological care as easy and free as possible for people who have the greatest need for adequate medical care.
At the end of his stay with us, Prof. Lalas held a training-discussion in front of his Bulgarian colleagues who expressed a desire to meet him live and gain useful experience and knowledge for their practice.
After the success of our first initiative and the positive response from everyone present, our entire team is even more motivated and determined to organize further similar meetings in order to reach and help more people.