Skin Care
In addition to General Practice, Allied Health, Cosmetic Medicine, and Skin Therapy, Plexus Medical & Cosmetic in South Yarra offers a professional medical service in Skin Medicine. We aim to address all skin concerns under the one roof and embrace the concept of a skin institute. In Skin Medicine, we collect the services which you would typically expect of a ‘skin clinic’ and most of these attract a Medicare rebate.
During a typical skin consultation, we assess your history, examine your skin, perform a dermatoscopic examination under high magnification, take any swabs or skin scrapings for laboratory microbiology or histology assessment, and we may refer you for blood tests as appropriate. Biopsy of skin lesions may be required to aid in diagnosis prior to definitive treatment. Treatment options are outlined for each skin problem type.
We treat active acne, acne prevention, and acne scarring.
Treatment options include:
- Prescriptive options including topical cleansers, topical antibiotics, topical retinoids, oral antibiotics, and oral contraceptive pill in females.
- Other skincare options such as acne specific cleansers, oil reduction serums, and drawing masks among others.
- Microdermabrasion
- Nd YAG Laser treatment- this form of light based therapy is specific for acne and kills the bacteria deeper in the skin. We keep prices to a minimum so as it is affordable and accessible to you. We go through an initial active acne treatment regime, and once under control, less frequent maintenance treatments.
- Skin needling therapy - this treatment incorporates a pen needle device that has multiple fine needles that are rolled over the skin repetitively to break up scar tissue and stimulate new collagen and elastin production, thus reducing visible scars
- Dermal filler injections and subcision for scarred, sunken skin areas
- PRP (Platelet Rich Plansma) injected skin therapy
Plexus Medical & Cosmetic in South Yarra has a very effective array of treatment options for our patients who suffer from Rosacea, which typically presents with redness of the nose / cheeks / and chin areas, and may involve pimples at times. Left untreated, it can lead to significant scarring and skin irregularity.
Treatment options include:
- Prescriptive products such as topical antibiotics, oral antibiotics and novel new topical treatments addressing redness reduction
Scarring can be of great concern to our patients. Scarring may result from acne, rosacea, trauma, surgical, and may include keloid scarring.
Treatment options include:
- Microdermabrasion
- Skin Peels
- Skin pen needling – this treatment incorporates a pen needle device that has multiple fine needles that are rolled over the skin repetitively to break up scar tissue and stimulate new collagen and elastin production, thus reducing visible scars.
- Dermal filler injections – we utilize various dermal fillers to fill out scars and stimulate collagen and elastin production underneath the scar to ‘fill out’ or ‘push up’ the scarred skin. This can be incorporated with needle subcision.
- Corticosteroid injection – this is a treatment option that can help reduce keloid scarring, but is most effective when utilized at the stage of keloid formation rather than at a later date.
- Laser - this YAG laser based treatment option can be effective in addressing more superficial scarring of the skin and we use this treatment in the management of red stretch marks.
- Laser Resurfacing - this option is available to resurface the skin in scarred areas and is a very effective treatment option.
This encompasses many patient concerns presenting for medical treatment options. This term includes cysts, lipomas, fibroma’s, skin tags and warts amongst other skin concerns.
Treatment options include:
- Surgical excision under local anaesthetic
- Post excision suturing
- Tying or snip excision of skin tags
- Cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen
- Diathermy cautery
- Laser treatment of warts
All specimens excised will undergo laboratory histology assessment.
All these services attract a Medicare rebate.
Pigmentation may be due to many causes such as sun damage, hormonal such as pregnancy or contraceptive pill, post acne, post trauma etc.
Treatment options include:
- Prescriptive products such as topical retinoids, and compounded skin products such as arbutinin, kojic acid, and hydroquinone amongst others.
- Non-prescriptive skincare products including professional agents from the Dermaceutic range.
- Facial peel treatment options from the Dermaceutic Professional Peel range
Vascular concerns may include haemangionas, “cherry spots”, Campbell de Morgan spots, telangiectasia, facial and leg veins, amongst others.
Treatment options involve:
- Cauterisation which is great for small lesions
- Fotona Vascular YAG laser gives fantastic results for more prominent areas without great expense or downtime.
- Leg varicose veins generally require referral to a vascular specialist which we can arrange for you
Pre-cancerous skin lesions are common in Australia and occur mainly on sun exposed areas such as the face / neck / chest / and arms but may occur elsewhere.
They generally present as crusted raised skin lesions which can be itchy. Left untreated, they can develop into skin cancers at a later stage.
Treatment options:
- Prescriptive options include topical diclofenac, ALA cream, ingenol gel, imiquimod, retinoids amongst others
- Non prescriptive products can play a role such as anti-oxidant serums and hydroxy acid lotions
- Cryotherapy – treatment with liquid nitrogen
Skin cancer is common in Australia, with a prevalence greater than anywhere else in the world. Hence the need for caution and regular skin checks are recommended as a way of preventing skin cancer complications.
Cancer screening services currently involve:
- Consultation and history taking
- Skin examination including dermatoscopic examination at high magnification and photographic imaging stored on your file for comparison in the future.
- Biopsy of any lesions which appear suspicious
- Excision of highly suspicious lesions or lesions confirmed as being cancerous on biopsy
- Biopsies and excisions are carried out under local anaesthesia, with suturing post-excision
- All specimens biopsied or excised are sent to the laboratory for histological assessment
- A follow-up consultation occurs approx 1 week after the biopsy or excision
- Annual skin reviews are recommended
- Prescriptive products may be utilized such as topical diclofenac, ALA cream, ingenol gel, or imiquimod for pre-cancerous lesions or some basal cell cancers
- Photodynamic therapy incorporating ALA and activation with IPL is utilized for generalized facial keratoses (pre-cancerous)
All these services attract a Medicare rebate
Plexus Medical & Cosmetic in South Yarra have invested in GenesisPlus, a YAG laser-based treatment from Fotona, which is FDA approved as a safe and effective treatment of toenail fungal infection.
Nail fungus is a common condition estimated to affect up to 10% of the population worldwide. It can cause nails to become yellow or discoloured. As the infection advances, the nail can become brittle and separate from the nail bed.
During a genesis-plus treatment, the laser beam is passed repetitively over the infected nails and surrounding skin. The laser light is absorbed by the pigment in the fungi, and this heat kills or damages the fungal organism.
Number of treatments can be as little as one, but more commonly two, and occasionally more if the nail is very thickened with severe infection. The treatment is comfortable, with a sense of heat in the nail. It is important to remove all nail polish and decorations the day before the procedure. The treatment is relatively inexpensive.
A significant benefit of this treatment is the avoidance of the need for oral medications which have to be taken for three to six months and can have significant side effects.
Plexus Medical & Cosmetic in South Yarra provide the service of Yag laser treatment of warts. This newly recognised and approved treatment modality for the treatment of warts is successful, affordable, and with minimal discomfort.
The YAG laser targets the vascular component of the wart and thereby cuts off the blood supply to the wart, which then dies. The desired end point of the treatment is a slight ashen colour occurring immediately after the administration of the laser pulse.
Within 24 hours after the treatment, the wart usually has a black or crusty appearance, and the treated tissue usually sloughs within 1-4 weeks.
More than 1 treatment may be necessary (4-6 weeks apart).
Plexus Health Care South Yarra provides the Laser Genesis Plus laser treatment option to relieve the symptoms of Morton’s Neuroma, a painful and often chronic condition with limited options for pain management.
During the treatment, approximately 400 laser pulses are administered from above the foot, and under the foot, in the affected area. The treatment generates heat, which can lead to a slight discomfort.
Mild redness and mild swelling may occur in the treated area, and this is a normal reaction. The number of treatments required may vary from 6 to 10, and can be performed weekly or twice per week depending on severity.
While some patients have reported improvement and relief after 1 treatment, most will typically begin to feel relief after 2 to 3 treatments.
It is recommended that patients avoid tight shoes, high heels, running and high impact aerobics during their treatment regimen.