Contact Dermatitis
Eczema (from the Greek, to boil over) is a group of skin diseases with one major common theme: an itchy rash.
Eczema can be caused by a number of factors, including childhood eczema (atopic dermatitis), skin dryness (xerotic eczema), poor circulation (stasis dermatitis), external agents (irritant and allergic contact dermatitis), and medications. Another cause of itching can be from kidney failure and dialysis.
Mohs Micrograph Surgery
Dr. Murakawa specializes in Mohs micrographic surgery at Somerset Skin Centre. Mohs micrographic surgery offers the highest cure rates for basal cell carcinoma and other skin cancers, with a cure rate of 97-99% for all malignancies.
Mohs is a tissue-sparing procedure that limits the size of the surgical defect. Also, since large tumors often require flaps and grafts for repair, reassurance that the tumor is completely excised prior to repair is optimal.
Most tumors on the face, ears, head, and neck can be excised by Mohs. Appropriate indications include tumors on the central face (around the eyes, nose, mouth) and ears; large tumors (>2 cm); recurrent or incompletely excised tumors; aggressive tumors (micronodular, infiltrative, morpheaform, and basosquamous tumors); and tumors with perineural invasion. We are happy to work with plastic surgeons for surgical defects. However, we surgically repair most of our defects, and routinely perform flaps and grafts on large defects.