In dermatology, we are fortunate to have many of our profession’s innovators and great teachers still among us. This column was created so that we may gain insight from these practitioners and learn more about them. Some are bright stars in our special universe — others unsung heroes. All of these colleagues have much to share from wisdom to humor to insights into dermatology and life.

Dr. Dzubow was born in Philadelphia in 1950, and has rarely wandered for any duration from the city of Brotherly Love, cheesesteaks and soft pretzels. He completed his undergraduate and medical school education at the University of Pennsylvania. He was delighted to be accepted to a residency at the Skin and Cancer Institute at New York University. Although he had intended to stay in the residency, he was approached in the hall one day by Perry Robins, who offered him a Mohs fellowship for his third year. After fellowship, he worked part-time in a private practice in York, PA, and at the same time, was offered the opportunity by Dr. Irwin Freedberg to establish a Mohs and dermatologic surgery program at Johns Hopkins. Two years later, Dr. Jerry Lazarus invited him back to Penn to establish a Mohs program and fellowship in Philadelphia. During that tenure, he had the good fortune to become the editor of Dermatologic Surgery and be invited to serve on the board of the American Board of Dermatology. After 20 years at Penn, he left to establish a private practice. He is currently serving as Vice President of the American College of Mohs Surgery.

Q. What part of your work gives you the most pleasure?

A. I suppose that in another life I might have functioned well as a psychiatrist or perhaps even a talk-show host. The most enjoyable portion of the day is sitting down with patients and bonding. Unlike medical dermatologists, who are forced to move quickly through the day due to large patient volumes, I am fortunate to be able to spend reasonably substantial amounts of time conversing and reassuring, as well as learning.

From a technical aspect, my greatest pleasure is designing and performing a reconstructive procedure that works well. Sadly, there is nothing more upsetting and frustrating than a disappointing reconstructive end result.

Q. What is your greatest regret?

A. My greatest regret was discontinuing my fellowship program when I left Penn and developed my private practice. I had the great fortune and privilege of working with some of the nicest and brightest individuals in our specialty during the fellowship program. I believe I learned more from my fellows than they learned from me and know the practice benefitted greatly from their charm and skills. I consider each and every one a friend and take great pleasure in their accomplishments.

Q. Who was your hero/mentor and why?

A. I would not be practicing dermatologic surgery if Perry Robins had not approached me in the hallway of the Skin and Cancer Institute at New York University and invited me to be his fellow. Although Dr. Mohs developed the procedure, Perry Robins in so many ways helped create the specialty. Perry developed the first year-long program in Mohs surgery and trained many of the leaders in the field. Although his accomplishments are too numerous to list, they include creation of the Journal of Dermatologic Surgery and Oncology and the establishment of the International Society of Dermatologic Surgery and the Skin Cancer Foundation. Perry is beloved by all his patients and trainees since he weaves compassion and humanity into the practice of medicine.

Q. What is the best piece of advice you have received and why?

A. Sadly, good advice is sometimes only appreciated retrospectively. As a child, my father repeated the following many times: “You are only a boy for a short, short time, but you are a man for the rest of your life.” Like many ambitious, compulsive, future medical types, I spent significant blocks of time in academic pursuits, often ignoring the available simple pleasures of childhood and adolescence. I have repeated this advice to my own children, often frustrated that they also were caught in the web of career-oriented competition and future success. If I were offered a second chance, I hope I would realize that there is no hurry to grow up into adulthood — it arrives soon enough on its own.

Q. What is the greatest political danger in the field of dermatology?

A. Dermatology is at risk from within and without. Rather than working for the evolution of dermatology as a whole in the field of organized medicine, various factions within dermatology are involved in in-fighting and recrimination. As small as we are as a profession, we are at risk for splintering into even tinier combative elements. Much of this is due to economic fears generated by our current national situation.

As in all of medicine, we all face ever- growing government and insurance control over how we practice medicine and treat patients. My fear is that independent medical decisions will become increasingly difficult as both private and public agencies direct our care and limit our options by controlling payment.

Dr. Barankin is a dermatologist based in Toronto, Canada. He is author-editor of five books in dermatology, and is widely published in the dermatology and humanities literature.
He is also co-editor of Dermanities (dermanities.com), an online journal devoted to the humanities as they relate to dermatology.